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THE WORLD'S GREATEST DISASTER. 



THE COMPLETE STORY 

OF THE 

ITALIAN 
ARTHOUAKE 




Graphic Accounts of This Most Awful Catastrophe in Which Two Hundred 
Thousand People Lost Their Lives— Teus of Thousands of Homes Crumbled 
to Dust In a Few Seconds— Terrible Tales of Suffering In the Kingdom of 
Death — Personal Experiences of gnrvivors ond Thrilling Escapes from 
Death— Tragic Tales of Suffering— Daring Deedsof Heroism— United States 
First to Send Help— The Nations of the World Aid the Afflicted— The U. S. 
Battleship Fleet to the Rescue. :: :: :: 5! 

BY 

J. MARTIN MILLER 

Author, Writer and Traveler; Ex.-U. S. Consul General; Menaber of 
the National Geographical Society, Washington, D. C. 

Author of "Twentieth Centurv Atlas and History of the World"— "Destruction of Martinique"— "Story of 
China"— "Russian-Japan War," etc, etc 



CONTAINING ALSO 

A History of Italy and Sicily; Other Great Disasters 
of the World, both by Earthquakes, Volcanoes 
and Tidal Waves; Scientific Explana- 
tions of their Causes. 



ILLUSTRATED WITH REPRQDUCTIOiSfS OF PHOTO- 

GRAPHS TAKEN ESPEGIALLY FOR 

THfS^ VOLUME, 



-M 5 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cocies Recer/ed 

FEB 1 "1909 

Copyritnt tntry 
CLASS OU XXc No. 



Copyright, 1909 

BY 

J. T. Moss. 



DEDICATED 

— TO— 

the humanity, which in its spontaneity of tender 
syn\pathy, unstintingly and indelibly forged the 
chains that bind the entire world in Love and 
Mercy, and obliterates all selfishness. 



INTRODUCTION 



The first ten years of the Twentieth Century will go down in 
history as the Earthquake and Volcano Decade. 

On May 8th, 1902, thirty thousand human lives at St. Pierre, 
under the shadow of Mount Pelee, were snuffed out of existence in 
thirty seconds. 

When the author of this book, ten days afterwards, visited the 
scene at St. Pierre, it was evident that not one living, breathing 
creature, including the domestic animals and fowls, had escaped 
instant death. 

Everything, buildings and all, given form by man, had been 
completely annihilated. At the same instant, almost seventy miles 
across the West Indian waters, the fury of the awful flow of molten 
lava destroyed two thousand lives on the British isle of St. Vincent. 

The Charleston and St. Louis Cyclones, the Johnstown Flood, 
and the Galveston Tidal Wave of the fifteen years before the dawn- 
ing of the Twentieth Century were dwarfed into insignificance, in 
the loss of human beings, by the Martinique Disaster. Closely fol- 
lowing the annihilation of St. Pierre came the destruction of San 
Francisco; Kingston, Jamaica; Valparaiso, Chile, and the awful 
tidal wave at Hong Kong. At each of these horrors of Nature the 
world was dazed. But, in the disaster occurring in Italy during 
the Holiday Season of 1908, every man and woman of the earth 
were turned from the festivities of the season into deepest gloom 
and sorrow, with thoughts of practical charity, sympathy and help 
for their stricken Italian brothers and sisters. 

Individuals, societies and nations united in one grand common 
effort for immediate succor for the stricken-down Italians and 
Sicilians. Our own great navy hastened, at the finish of the famous 
cruise around the world, to save and preserve life and to assist in 
Jourying the scores of thousands of the dead. WTiat a noble mission 

7i 



8 Intboduction. 

for a navy ! If a navy, in imagination, stands for destrnction, may 
its meaning now be modified to mean, Iboth in imagination and in 
fact, an instrument of mercy, of help, and of construction, rather 
than a weapon of death-dealing destruction. 

It is estimated that the Italian and Sicilian Earthqualie de- 
stroyed five times as many lives as the total loss of life in all the 
other catastrophes enumerated above. The loss of hundreds of 
millions of property value and the impoverishment of tens of 
thousands of the survivors, directly or indirectly interested, is, of 
course, remotely secondary when we contemplate the horrifying 
details in the cruel loss of life. 

If there has ever been a book written to commemorate a disaster 
more awful and far-reaching probably than all of Nature's disas- 
ters combined during the century preceding this one, this is 
certainly the book. 

Vesuvius and the cities, ancient and modern, as well as Caracas, 
Yeddo, Mauna Loa, Mount Etna, are names that have long caused 
the heart of every human being to shudder, but all of the disasters 
caused by these mysterious and wonderful works of Nature may 
be considered insignificant in comparison with the Italian-Sicilian 
Cataclysm. Nature never did her work on so grand a death-dealing 
scale as in this calamity. 

To recall Sicily reminded one of peace in a luxuriant garden, a 
place made happy and kept in bloom by the fancies of Nature. Cli- 
matically it is semi^ropical. The olive, the cocoanut, the fig, the 
citrus and other fruits grow in abundance. 

Many things combined to make Sicily the most ideal winter 
resort, probably, in the world, in many respects. Thousands 
of Americans visit the island each winter. Eegular lines of steam- 
ers connect Palermo, the chief city of Sicily (and did connect Mes- 
sina), with Naples, Genoa and other Italian ports. 

The site of Messina lies along the narrow Straits of Messina, 
separating Sicily from the mainland of Italy. Steamers from 
Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand and the east coast of 
Af lica, as well as from Egypt, the ports of the Holy Land, Turkey 
and Austria., bound for Naples, Genoa or Marseilles, always pass 
through the Straits of Messina, very close to the lost city, taking 




Courtesj- of the Chicago Examiner. 

MESSINA— A PORTION OF THE RUINED CITY. 

Survivors and friends searching the ruins for relations and valuables. 




Courtesy of the Chicago Examiner. 

PALMI— SHOWING RUINS AND SURVIVORS. 
This photograph shows the survivors who have returned, to what was once 
their homes, to search for their belongings. 



Intboduction. II 

its name from the straits. Soundings recently made in front of 
Messina indicate that the straits in some places are from ten to 
twenty fathoms more shallow than before the earthquake. For a 
time after the earthquake navigation through the straits was very 
dangerous. A new survey of the straits has since been made and 
new charts printed to conform to the entirely changed condition of 
the channel. 

From Messina one can easily look across the straits to the main- 
land of Italy and follow the railway trains with the eyes as they 
worm along the coast-line railway reaching to Eeggio and beiyond. 
The view of Italy proper, to be obtained, from Messina, is indeed 
an enchanting one. If any part of Italy is more sunny in winter 
than any other jDortion, it is in this immediate section of the south- 
ern end of the peninsula. 

From the highest positions in Messina the view in a southwest- 
erly direction across Sicily takes in in its sweep the majestic and 
famous Mount Etna, towering 10,874 feet above sea level. It will 
be seen, then, that Messina lies between Vesuvius at Naples and 
Mount Etna in Sicily. Vesuvius during the past few years has, on 
different occasions, frightened the people away from Naples and 
its environs. These rumblings and intermittent eruptions were 
looked upon as stem warnings. There were no warnings at Mes- 
sina and Eeggio di Calabria and the other unfortunate communities 
that were destroyed. 

With the exception of South America, there are more Italians 
in the United States, outside of Italy, than in any other country 
of the world. It is said that New York City has more Italians than 
Eome has inhabitants. The very large Italian population in our 
country tended to lend a keener interest in the disaster than that 
possessed by any other country. In a sense, this calamity in Italy 
was a disaster to the United States. The Italian population of our 
country is a very great factor in our business and political life and 
the business interests between the two countries are enormous. 
The earthquake disaster had a great effect upon business in certain 
lines in the United States, and those of our business men having 
direct commercial relations and investments in the stricken Italian 
district were very materially affeoted. The exports from Messina 



12 Intkodtjction. 

and all that part of Sicily and Italy were very large, particularly 
in fruits. 

The sorrow of the whole world is universal and sympathy is 
expressed by all human hearts. The only consolation in this great 
catastrophe is the thought that the whole world mourns — ^not Italy 
alone, but the United States of America and every other nation of 
the civilized world. The generous impulse of the United States, 
the Ked Cross and other societies of our country, as well as the 
immediate response of our government and the generous appropri- 
ation of our Congress upon convening after the holiday recess, in 
answering the cry of distress, hunger and pain, will never be for- 
gotten by the Italian Kingdom. Thousands of Italians in the 
United States lamented the loss of relatives and friends. The un- 
fortunate Mr. Cheney, the American Consul at Messina, my col- 
league in the Consular Service of the United States for three years, 
with his family, perished with the other inhabitants of the lost city. 

The author wishes to acknowledge the great debt of gratitude 
that he is under to his many friends in the Consular service, etc., 
as well as to H. R. Chamberlain, S. C. Andrews and J. T. Thomp- 
son who assisted in the gathering of information to make this book 

complete and accurate. 

f 




CONTENTS 



Introduction , , 7 

CHAPTEE I. 
THE DESTEUCTION OF MESSINA, SICILY. 
More Than a Hundred Thousand People Hurled into Eternity in an Instant — 
Destruction, Devastation and Death — The Earth Opens Up in Crevices Cre- 
ating Chasms into Which Buildings Tumble to Complete Destruction, Killing 
the Inmates — Falling Buildings Engulfed Fleeing Men, Women and Chil- 
dren — One Hundred Thousand Killed, Ten Thousand Wounded and Pinioned 
Between Timbers and Heaps of Tumbling Masonry Forming a Veritable In- 
ferno and a Carnival of Death — The Destruction of Shipping in the Harbor 
Was Complete 21 

CHAPTEE II, 

IN THE' JAWS OF DEATH. 

In the Jav/s of Death, Yet Live — ^Some More than Thrilling Experiences by 

Survivors — A Night of the Blackest Horrors — Men, women and Children 

Stee the Lives of Tlieir Dear Ones Taken from Thpm in an Instant — Some 

Single Survivors of Large Families 49 

CHAPTER III. 
THE DESTRUCTION OF RSGGIO. 

The Destruction of Reggio in Italy Across the Straits from and South of 
Messina — The Earthquake on Both Sides of the Straits and Under Its 
Great De-pths — Great Fury of the Waters Caused by thte Convulsions of 
Nature Under Them — The Population and Environs of Eeggio 72 

CHAPTER IV. 

A CHAIN OF HORRORS. 

The Destruction of the Other Towns Adjacent to Messina and Reggio — All of 
These Towns Located Between the Volcano Vesuvius and Mount Etna, More 
than One Hundred and Fifty Miles Apart 87 

CHAPTER V. 
MESSINA— A GIANT TOMB. 
A City of the Dead — A Vivid Picture of a Once Prosperous City, Now a Necrop- 
olis of Its Inhabitants — Buried Under Mountains of Powdered Brick and 
iStone, Lime and Mortar — An Eye-Witness Paints a Pen-Picture of Terri- 
ble Destruction 91 

13 



14 Contents. 

chaptee vi, 

THE BROTHERHOOD OF NATIONS. 

Deeds of Daring, Valor and Heroism — Soldiers and Sailors of All Nations Work 

Side by Side in the Ruins, Rescuing the Imprisoned and Caring for the 

Wounded — Burying the Dead — The Work of the Red Cross — The King and 

Queen of Italy and Their Rescue Work — Personality of the King — His 

Eeign Ho 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE FLOOD OF GOLD. 

The World's Offerings — Sympathy from All Nations — ^Warships to the Rescue 

— Mighty Fighting Ships Turned into Floating Hospitals^ — Supplies of All 

Kinds Rushed to the Afflicted People — Humanity's Work for Humanity's 

Sake — Italy's Sorrows Are the Sorrows of the Whole World — The One 

Great Human Duty of the Hour, Help Italy 124 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

UNITED STATES FLEET. 

The United States Government to the Rescue — The United States Navy — ^The 

Greatest Fleet Ever Sent on a Cruise Joins the Mission of Mercy and 

Relief — The Crowning Act of the Great Amierioan Fleet on Its Famous 

Globe Encircling Voyage — The Number of Officers and Men Accompanying 

the Great American Fleet in the Work of Rescue 134 

CHAPTEE IX. 
UNITED STATES GOVEENMENT TO THE EESCUE. 
Appropriation by the United States Congress for the Relief of the Starving 
Survivors — President Roosevelt's Message to Congress Recommending the 
Appropriation — The Red Cross AppropriationsH— Balance of San Francisco 
Relief Fund Transferred by Cable to Italy— The Amounts Raised by the 
Several States of the Union for the Relief of the Men, Women and Chil- 
dren Made Poverty Stricken in This Most Awful of the World's Disasters.. 137 

CHAPTEE X. 
AFTEE THE EARTHQUAKE. 
Nature Remains Cruel, Additional Shocks Adding Terror to the Stricken Peo- 
ple — Description of Mes&ina After the Earthquake by F. Marion Craw- 
ford the Celebrated Writer — Millions in Treasure Buried at Messina — Mirac- 
ulous Rescues — Immense Graves Hold Over One Thousand Bodies — Messina 

and Eeggio to Be Eebuilt 144 

CHAPTEE XL 
THE PEOPLE OF SICILY. 
The People of Sicily— Customs— Language— Habits and Dress— Occupation and 

Pursuits of the People ^^' 

CHAPTER XII. 
MODERN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SICILY. 
Modern Historical Sketch of Sicily and Its Principal Cities and Towns— A 

Touch Upon the Ancient History of Sicily 1^^ 



Contents. 15 

chapter xiii. 
ameeican eepresentatives. 

The Araerieau Embassy at Rome — The American Consulates in Italy and Sicily 

— The Italian Embassy at Washington 183 

CHAPTER XIV. 

ITALY AND THE UNITED STATES. 

Commerce Between Italy and the United States — Imports and Exports — Emi- 
gration in Past Ten Years, etc 186 

CHAPTER XV. 

ITALY. 

Historical Sketch of Italy — Its Language, Art and Music — Paintings and Sculp- 
ture 189 

CHAPTER XVI. 

SOUTHERN ITALY. 

Rome and the Vatican 202 

CHAPTER XVII. 

ANCIENT EARTHQUiVKES. 

Earthquake Annals Before the Discovery of America — In Japan — Central Italy 
— Asia — China — Palestine — Egypt — Rome — Germany — Switzerland — ^Persia — 
England — Calabria and Sicily — Indian Archipelago — Java and Sumatra 212 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE DOOMED CITY. 

Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco and a Conflagration Without 
Parallel Completes the Work of Destruction — Tremendous Loss of Life in 
Quake and Fire — Property Loss $200,000,000 230 

CHAPTER XIX. 
SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE. 
Flames Spread in a Hundred Directions and the Fire Becomes the Greatest Con- 
flagration of Modern Times — Entire Business Section and Fairest Part of 
Residence District Wiped Ofi: the Map — Palaces of Millionaires Vanish in 
Flames or Are Blown Up by Dynamite — The Worst Day of the Catastrophe. 241 

CHAPTER XX. 
THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR. 
Fire Spreads North and South Attended by Many Spectacular Features — ^Heroic 
Work of Soldiers Under General Funston — Explosions of Gas Add to Gen- 
eral Terror — Fierce Battle to Save the Famous Ferry Station, the Chief In- 
let to and Egresf3 From San Francisco — Fire Tugs and Vessels in the Bay 
Aid in Heroic Fight — Fort Mason, General Funston 's Temporary Headquar- 
ters, Has Narrow Escape — A Survey of the Scene of Desolation 250 



16 .Contents. 

chaptee xxi. 
vesuvius theeatens naples. 

Beautiful Italian City on the Mediterranean Almost Engulfed in Ashes and Lava 
From the Terrible Volcano — Worst Eruption Since the Days of Pompeii and 
Herculaneum — Buildings Crushed and Thousands Eendered Homeless 265 

CHAPTES XXII. 
SCENES IN PEIGHTENED NAPLES. 

Blistering Showers of Hot Ashes — The People Frantic — Cry Everywhere "When 

Will It End?" — Atmosphere Charged With Electricity and Poisonous Fumes. 275 

CHAPTEE XXni. 

VOLCANOES AND EAETHQUAKES EXPLAINED. 

The Theories of Science on Seismic Convulsions — Volcanoes Likened to Boils on 
the Human Body Through Which the Fires and Impurities of the Blood 
Manifest Themselves — Seepage of Ocean Waters Through Crevices in the 
Eock Eeaeh the Internal Fires of the Earth — Steam Is Generated and an Ex- 
plosion Follows — Geysers and Steam Boilers as Illustrations— Views of the 
World's Most Eminent Scientists Concerning the Causes of Eruption of 
Mount Pelee and La Souf riere 281 

CHAPTEE XXIV. 
TEEEIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTEES OF THE PAST. 
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Other Cities of the Plain — The 
Bible Account a Graphic Description of the Event — Ancient Writers Tell of 
Earthquakes and Volcanoes of Antiquity — Discovery of Buried Cities of 
Which no Eecords Eemain — ^Formation of the Dead Sea — The Valley of the 
Jordan and Its Physical Characteristics 297 

CHAPTEE XXV. 

VESUVIUS AND THE DESTEUCTION OF POMPEII. 

Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History — Eoman Cities Overwhelmed — Scenes 
of Horror Described by Pliny, the Great Classic V7riter, an Eye-Witness of 
the Disaster — Buried in Ashes and Lava — The Stricken Towns Preserved 
for Centuries and Excavated in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of 
the Life of 1,800 Years Ago 303 

CHAPTEE XXVI. 
MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HOEEOES. 
A Volcano With a Eecord of Twenty-five Centuries^ — ^Seventy-eight Eecorded 
Eruptions — Three Hundred Thousand Inhabitants Dwelling on the Slopes 
of the Mountain and in the Valleys at Its Base — Stories of Earthquake 
Shock and Lava Flows — Tales of Destruction Described by Ancient and 
Modern Writers and Eye-Witnesses 313 



Contents. 17 

chaptee xxvii. 
lisbon eaethquake scoueged. 

Sixty Thousand Lives Lost in a Few Moments — An Opulent and Populous Capital 
Destroyed — Grax)hic Account by an English Merchant "Who Eesided in the 
Stricken City — Tidal Waves Drown Thousands in the City Streets — Ships 
Engulfed in the Harbor — Criminals Eob and Burn — Terrible Desolation and 
Suffering 326 

CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
JAPAN AND ITS DISASTEOUS EAETHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES. 
The Island Empire Subject to Convulsions of Nature — Legends of Ancient Dis- 
turbances^ — Famous Volcano of Fuji-yama Formed in One Night — More Than 
One Hundred Volcanoes in Japan — Two Hundred and Thirty-two Eruptionsi 
Eecorded— Devastation of Thriving Towns and Busy Cities — The Capital a 
Sufferer — Scenes of Desolation After the Most Eecent Great Earthquakes.. 336 

CHAPTEE XXIX. 
KEAKATOA, THE GEEATEST OF VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS. 
The Volcano That Blew Its Own Head Off— The Terrific Crash Heard Three 
Thousand Miles — Atmospheric V/aves Travel Seven Times Around the Earth 
— A Pillar of Dust Seventeen Miles High — Islands of the Malay Archipelago 
Blotted Out of Existence — Native Villages Annihilated — Other Disastrous 
Upheavals in the East Indies 345 

CHAPTEE XXX. 
OUE GEEAT HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES. 
Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the American Flag — Huge Craters 
in Our Pacific Islands — Native Worship of the Gods of the Flaming Moun- 
tains — Eruptions of the Past — Heroic Defiance of Pclee, the Goddess of A^ol- 
eanoes, by a Brave Hawaiian Queen — The Spell of Superstition Broken — 
Volcanic Peaks in Alaska, Our Northern Territory — Aleutian Islands Ee- 
port Eruptions 355 

CHAPTEE XXXI. 
SOUTH AMEEICAN CITIES DESTEOYED. 
Earthquakes Eavage the Coast Cities of Peru and the Neighboring Countries — 
Spanish Capitals in the New World Frequent Sufferers — Lima, Callao and 
Caracas Devastated — Tidal Waves Accompany the Earthquakes- — Juan Fer- 
nandez Island Shaken — ^Fissures Engulf Men and Animals — Peculiar Effects 
Observed 365 

CHAPTEE XXXII. 

EAETHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN CENTEAL AMEEICA AND MEXICO. 

A Eegion Frequently Disturbed by Subterranean Forces — Guatemala a Fated 
City — A Lake Eruption in Honduras Described by a Great Painter — City of 
San Jose Destroyed — Inhabitants Leave the Vicinity to Wander as Beggars 
— Disturbances on the Eoute of the Proposed Nicaraguan Canal — San Sal- 
vador Is Shaken — Mexican Cities Suffer 374 



18 Contents. 

CHAPTER XXXin. 
CHAELESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN— OUE AMERICAN DISASTERS. 
Earthquake Shock in South Carolina — Many Lives Lost in the Riven City — 
Flames Follow the Convulsion — Galveston Smitten by Tidal Wave and Hur- 
ricane — Thousands Die in Flood and Shattered Buildings — The Gulf Coast 
Desolated— Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swept by Water From a Bursting 
Reservoir — Scenes of Horror — Earthquakes on the California Coast 381 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED BY A VOLCANO. 
Fifty Thousand Men, Women and Children Slain in an Instant — The Island Cap- 
ital Obliterated — Molten Fire and Suffocating Gases Rob Multitudes of 
Life — Death Reigns in the Streets of the Stricken City — The Governor and 
Foreign Consuls Die at Their Posts of Duty — Burst of Flame From Mount 
Pelee Completes the Ruin — No Escape for the Hapless Residents in the 
Fated Town — Scenes of Suffering Described — St. Pierre the Pompeii of Today 
—Desolation Over All — Few Left to Tell the Tale of the Morning of Dis- 
aster , 389 




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COMPLETE STORY OF THE 

Italian EarthquaKe Horror 



CHAPTER I. 
THE DESTRUCTION OF MESSINA, SICILY. 

More Than a Hundred Thousand People Hurled into Eternity in an Instant — 
Destruction, Devastation and Death — The Earth Opens Tip in Crevices 
Creating Chasms into Which Buildings Tumble to Complete Destruc- 
tion, Killing the Inmates — Falling Buildings Engulfed Fleeing Men, 
Women and Children — One Hundred Thousand Killed, Ten Thousand 
Wounded and Pinioned Between Timbers and Heaps of Tumbling Ma- 
sonry Forming a Veritable Inferno and a Carnival of Death— The De- 
struction of Shipping in the Harbor Was Complete. 

Sicily, a beautiful island, sleeping peacefully in tlie soft, warm 
air of a semi-tropical dawn, the blue waters of tlie Mediterranean 
lapping its shores. Rising from the waterfront to the hillsides 
that stretch back to the verdure-covered mountains is Messina, a 
city of 150,000 souls. Smaller cities and towns dot the landscape 
at intervals while the intervening sections are filled with agricul- 
tural lands, vineyards and orange groves. Happy and care-free are 
the people of this island, as the comforts of climate and the natural 
products make severe labor unnecessary, and all forms of life are 
cheerful and light-hearted. 

Suddenly there is a tremendous uplieaval — ^the earth rocks and 

shakes as if in the grasp of some giant monster, and half of the 

beautiful island becomes one great tomb. The Angel of Death 

has spread his pall over it, slaying one hundred and fifty thousand 

and injuring and maiming thousands upon thousands more. 

ai 



22 The Destruction of Messina. 

"Wliat was this tremendous power of evil that rohhed this city 
of life*? What could destroy over a hundred thousand lives and 
hundreds of square miles of beantifnl country, all in less than a 
minute? Earthquake, Tidal Wave and Fire. 

At half -past five o'clock on Monday morning, December 28th, 
1908, the southern part of Italy, and the eastern part of Sicily, 
was visited hy a terrific earthquake, lasting 23 seconds, which com- 
pletely annihilated everything within its zone. Following immedi- 
ately after the great shocks came an enormous tidal wave that 
hurled itself with resistless fury against the already stricken city, 
completing the work of destruction in the lower part of the town. 
Almost immediately afterwards fires broke out in many places and 
turned the vast sepulchre into an actual inferno. 

Mount Etna, one of the largest volcanoes in the world, is but 
a few miles from Messina, and the convulsions of the earth caused 
it to become active so that thunderous detonations reverberated 
over the stricken city, adding terror to the agonizing cries and 
shrieks of the wounded and groans of the dying. 

No mind can conceive and no pen can describe the enormity of 
this great disaster, the greatest that has befallen any people since 
the history of the world began. That morning in Messina was one 
of horror upon horror, absolutely indescribable. Every building in 
the city crumbled and fell, burying tens of thousands under the 
ruins, or pinioning them under timbers only to meet the cruel fate 
of slow torture of dying by hunger or watching the flames creep 
nearer and nearer to their doom. 

The first shock was the most violent, others followed quickly. 
According to one survivor, interviewed at Catania, the earth 
cracked like the report of a Maxim gun. The shock was so sudden 
that scores of houses collajDsed like cardboard before the terror- 
stricken inmates could leap into the streets. 

The suddenness of the shock was responsible for the huge death 
roll. Thousands were killed in their beds before they could realize 
what was happening. Others were killed by falling debris or 
shattered under masonry that toppled into the streets as the earth 
continued its quivers and even long after all pulsations had ceased. 

In the words of another survivor, a merchant named Fiazinni, 



The DESTEUCTioisr of Messina. 23 

who escaped to Catania wearing a bath robe and slippers: ''the 
scene immediately following the first shock was like the coming of 
the end of the world. Thousands of men, women and children in 
night attire ran shrieking into the streets, half dressed, praying, 
wailing and cursing. Many rushed out only to be crushed by fall- 
ing walls. 

''With the first shock the electric and gas lights went out and the 
city was in darkness, only to be lighted brilliantly in another min- 
ute or two by the flames of burning houses. 

"The frenzied prayers of the people, the groans of the dying 
and the piteous appeals for help from those imprisoned in the ruins 
made a scene of horror, but the climax was not yet reached. 

"While the dazed inhabitants were still crawling out from their 
wrecked homes a tidal wave engulfed the lower part of the town. 
The sea receded several hundred feet and then rolled back on the 
city with tremendous force. 

WATER RISES NINETY FEET. / 

"A wall of water from fifty to ninety feet high swept over the j 
wharves, warehouses and magnificent commercial structures ad- 1 
joining the harbor. Entire streets were obliterated, ships at anchor 
were cast up into the town and then borne back seaward as bat- \ 
tered wrecks. The stone docks were torn up and the ponderous | 
stones tossed about like wooden chips. i 

" Day broke over a scene of desolation. The harbor of Messina j 
had practically disappeared, and with it nearly all the shipping. '; 
The lower part of the town was swept clean by the tidal wave, while 
the remainder was a mass of twisted, shattered buildings. { 

"Fires broke out simultaneously in three places, and, owing to 
the lack of apparatus and water supply, quickly gained headway. 
The Strait of Messina was dotted with corpses and wreckage, carts 
and household furniture, swept seaward. Vessel captains reported 
having passed through this debris for miles beyond Messina." 

FLAMES BREAK OUT AFRESH. 
Throughout the morning of December 28 the ruins blazed 
fiercely, but the soldiers and sailors finally succeeded in checking 
the flames. 



24 The Desteuotion of Messina. 

The magnificent cathedral was a total loss and the bishop's pal- 
ace collapsed. Those of the priests who escaped injury worked 
ceaselessly, among the rnins, often giving absolution 'to victims 
pinned in the wreckage who could not be extricated befoire the 
flames reached them. 

All the hotels in the lower part of the town collapsed. The 
barracks collapsed at the first shock, burying a majority of the 
soldiers. Hardly a survivor escaped injury. The few who were 
able immediately formed rescue parties and assisted in restoring 
order and succoring the wounded. 

MANY BTJEIED ALIVE IN RUINS. 

Many persons were buried alive in the ruins and died before help 
reached them. Great difficulty was encountered in clotliing the sur- 
vivors. The majority lost all clothing except 'their night garments 
and wandered about the streets in a picturesque state of undress. 
Several shiploads of scantily-clad survivors were landed at Pa- 
lermo and Catania. The crews of vessels supplied many with 
slothing. The Prefect of Messina escaped wearing only pajamas. 
Thus clad he directed the rescue party. 

The postofiice and town hall were destroyed. Many people 
became mad through fright and grief. One wealthy banker who 
lost his wife and son was found a raving lunatic delving in the 
ruins of his home and a detail of soldiers carried him away. 

PvAIN ADDS TO THE MISERY. 

The misery of the victims was intensified by the showers of rain 
falling continuously throughout the day. Eepeated shocks were 
felt not only in Messina, but in the surrounding district, causing a 
renewed panic toi the survivors. 

Many attempts were made to pillage the ruins of Messina. 
Offenders were promptly arrested. Troops surrounded all the dev- 
astated area and additional soldiers were dispatched from Palermo 
and Naples for emergency service. Warships and steamships ply- 
ing between Messina and Palermo were used for the transportation 
of supplies and the deportation of the survivors and wounded. 



The DESTKiJCTioisr or Messina. 



FIRST REPORTS CONFIRMED. 



The first cable reports of this earthquake horror were con- 
sidered very extravagant, and only '' newspaper reports" supposed 
to have been written by some news vendor to make good reading. 
It, however, proved to be true and later developments convinced 
all that it was a colossal tragedy and one that made the whole 
world shudder. 

Each day after the disaster added thousands upon thousands 
to the death roll. At first it was 25,000. Next day 75,000. Then 
100,000 and finally the whole awful story became known and the 
number increased to between 200,000 and 250,000. 

A STIRRING RECITAL BY AN EYE WITNESS. 

The first calm and connected stories of the earthquake disaster 
came from officers and passengers of the Welsh steamer Afonwen, 
whose unemotional British temperament enabled them to relate in 
detail their experiences. 

"During the night before the catastrophe," said the captain of 
the Afonwen, ''we lay at anchor in the harbor of Messina under 
steam, ready to leave early the following day. It may have been 
about 5 'clock in the morning when I heard a low, growling sound 
like distant thunder. Daylight had not yet dawned, but I was on 
deck and the crew were stirring. The peculiar sound made me 
glance anxiously at the sky and then at the sleeping town of Mes- 
sina, neither of which afforded any explanation. 

SHIP LEAPS HIGH IN AIR. 

' ' Suddenly the Afonwen gave a terrific leap. That is the only 
word I can use. The ship seemed to rise up from the surface of 
the water as though lifted bodily by some mighty power under- 
neath. The anchor chains snapped and we started to drift shore- 
ward very fast. 

' ' From the land came sounds of tremendous crashing and fall- 
ing of buildings. The low, muttering thunder which I first had 
heard now became a roar of destruction. All the lights along shore 
went out in an instant. The darkness was intense. 

"Instinctively I knew this was an earthquake and that tidal 



26 The Destruction of Messina. 

waves were dashing us about the straits. The first thing to do was 
to save the ship, for other craft were being thrown about on all 
sides and there was imminent danger of collisions. Another boat 
was swept down upon us before I could get the crew to their sta- 
tions and the Afonwen under control, but luckily the bump was 
slight and not much damage was done. 

''Now the sea became tremendously agitated, with waves and 
walls of water rising on every side. The ship lifted to her beam 
ends. The deck heeled over to an angle of 25 degrees, so that we 
scarcely could keep our feet. For thirty-five minutes it was touch 
and go. Once a great wall of water struck us with such violence 
that I thought it was all over, but by a miracle we came through it. 

GREAT HOLES OPEN IN SEA. 

"It was like a cyclone from all points of the compass. The wind 
howled and the waves battered and swept the decks. Amazing and 
terrifying things were happening all around us. Great holes 
opened in the sea itself and seemed to reach down twenty to thirty 
feet and some to lesser depths. 

"The water at first appeared to grow livid and then- became 
white with foam. 

"As soon as the worst of the tidal wave had passed I tried to 
see what had befallen the town of Messina, as the first faint streaks 
of daylight appeared, but nothing was visible of mole or buildings. 
I could see at first only the outline of the hills and a vast eddying 
cloud of dust, which speedily enveloped everything and settled 
down over the ship like a fog. 

"With increasing daylight we could see how Messina had been 
destroyed. Before our eyes, houses and palaces still were toppling 
and falling to earth with noise like so many exploding powder mag- 
azines. Close beside us a Danish steamer had gone down and the 
surface of the water was littered with all manner of wreckage from 
it and other wrecked craft. 

"When we looked at the land again it seemed to have taken on 
some fantastic coloring, something between a yellow tint and an 
ashen gray. The city itself was black with smoke split by ominous 
red streaks of bursting flame. 



The Destkuction of Messina. 27 

' ' Gradually the sea calmed down and tlie roar of the wind and 
waves decreased. Then shrieks and groans reached onr ears, and 
we could see hundreds of terror-stricken persons flocking down to 
the water's edge, waving their arms and screaming frantically for 
help. Many of them plunged into the sea and swam out toward our 
ship. We took on board as many as could be accommodated." 

At the time of the earthquake the torx^edo boat Sappho was lying 
in the harbor at Messina, and one of the officers told of the occur- 
rences as follows : 

''At half -past five in the morning the sea suddenly became ter- 
ribly agitated, seeming literally to pick up our boat and shake it. 
Other craft near by were similarly treated and the ships looked 
like bits of cork bobbing about in a tempest. 

''Almost immediately a tidal wave of huge proportions swept 
across the strait, mounting the coasts and carrying everything be- 
fore it. Scores of ships were damaged, and the Hungarian mail- 
boat Andrassy parted her anchors and went crashing into other 
vessels. Messina Bay was wiped out and the sea was soon covered 
with masses of wreckage which was carried off by the receding 
waters." 

Professor Ricco, director of the observatory at Mount Etna, 
states that his instrument recorded forty-two distinct shocks after 
the first. 

The captain of the steamer "Washington, which was in the 
Straits of Messina at the time of the earthquake, says his vessel 
shuddered as if she had run aground. A thick fog prevailed at the 
time, and it was impossible for him to see the Messina lighthouse 
or the Calabrian coast. The Washington was soon surrounded with 
boats appealing for aid. The people were taken on board. The 
sea was littered with wreckage in every direction. 

THE GRAPHIC BESCEIPTION OF A STJRVIVOE. 

"It is impossible for the wildest imagination to picture any- 
thing more terrific than the destruction of Messina," said Signer 
Serana, a survivor of Messina. "It seemed as if the entire city 
had been suddenly transformed into a whirlpool. We were petri- 



28 The Destbuction of Messina. 

fied with fear. It was next to impossible to proceed amid the piled 
up wreckage which effaced all traces of former streets. 

''There were heartrending shrieks from the unfortunates who 
had fled to the streets. It was impossible to judge whether grief 
or terror was the stronger feeling. 

"My wife and I were awakened by the first shock. Our first 
impulse was to rush to the windows. We found them blocked, so 
decided to try the door. We lived on the fourth floor, and feared 
the stairway had been destroyed. However, we decided to risk 
it and hurried down. Immediately after it crumbled and fell. 

"When we reached the street the house collapsed. I then real- 
ized that my brother Charles, who married Miss Hart of Troy, N. 
Y., was buried in the ruins with his wife. We discovered them — 
literally unearthed them, as only their heads were free. We found 
their granddaughter suffocated 

SEARCH FOR AMERICAN CONSUL. 

"The succeeding shock shattered everything. We Sed towards 
the beach, dressed in our nightgowns, and begged some sailors to 
row us to the steamer Chesapeake, a petroleum ship bound for 
Genoa, which, fearing fire, hurried its departure. We left the 
Chesapeake and went aboard the British cruiser Minerva, where 
we were received through the kind offices of Mr. Lupton, the Amer- 
ican vice-consul, who was indefatigable in relief work and search- 
ing for Americans in the ruined city. 

"I went ashore again with Mr. Lupton and, climbing over 
broken beams, shattered walls and quantities of broken furniture, 
we finally reached the spot where the American consulate had 
stood. 

"The consular building was about three stories high. It had 
entirely collapsed. We could hardly believe our eyes. Mr. Lupton 
climbed over the ruins calling out, ' Cheney, Cheney. ' Mr. Cheney 
was the American consul. 

"He was confident the consul would answer him. He said to 
me: 

" 'Daylight has not come yet, and that is why I cannot see him 
but he must be somewhere in the wreckage. ' 



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WITH TEEROE IN THEIR HEARTS. 

Survivors fleeing for safety from their dwellings. It was certain death for all who were 
unatole to get out of their homes, and those who escaped had on only night clothes. 




THE STROKE OF DOOM. 

Nature in a few seconds overthrew the human labor of centuries and made a flourishing 

city a heap of ghastly ruins. 



The Destruction of Messina. 33 

' ' Our search became more and more feverish, but as time wore 
on and it was still unsuccessfuil we finally realized its hopelessness. 
Y7e saw it would be impossible to reach even the bodies of the un- 
fortunate Ch(?ney:s. In addition to the collapse of the consulate a 
neighboring building had been precipitated upon the consular 
rudns, and the whole was a vast mass of wreckage. 

PEOBABLY MET INSTANT DEATH. 

' ^ Touched by the despair of Mr. Lupton, I tried to console him, 
say.ing that undoubtedly the Cheneys had been vouchsafed the 
mercy of immediate death and did not linger alive under the debris. 

''We then left the ruins of Mr. Cheney's home. We had done 
everything in our power. 

' ' Mr. Lupton was anxious to communicate with the department 
of state at Washin^gton, and he managed to get a wireless message 
through Malta (this message was duly received). For some time 
after all communication from Sicily or the peninsula was practi- 
cally impossible. 

FEW AMERICANS VISIT MESSINA. 

''Later Mr. Lupton and I, together with a party of British sail- 
ors, went ashore again. Mr. Lupton was anxious to learn if there 
had been any American victims of the earthquake. I was able to 
reassure him, as having lived in Messina forty years, in constant 
touch with the American consuls, I never knew of a single Ameri- 
can resident. Furthermore, few American tourists came to 
Messina. 

"To make assurance doubly sure we interrogated everybody 
we met who would be at all likely to know of any Americans, espe- 
cially the managers and the waiters of the Hotel Trinacria. Thus 
we were able to ascertain that this hotel, where Americans would 
be most likely to stop, lost none of its guests with the exception of 
the Swedish consul and an Italian girl. These two unfortunates 
were killed at the first shock. 

"As soon as communication with Catania was re-established we 



34 The Desteuction of Messina. 

were able to ascertain that Taormina was safe, and that no one 
there had been injured.'* 

INFANT ALONE TOUa DAYS. 

An infant clothed in a little nightshirt was rescued well and 
uninjured after having lain for four days on a square yard of 
flooring in a house that was otherwise entirely demolished 

ALL PUBLIC OFFICES DESTEOYED. 

Continued advices from Messina told a pitiful story. Thousands 
of wailing unfortunates, scantily clad, wandered up and down the 
streets and cried aloud their hopes that their loved ones were unin- 
jured and prayed to God to save them from further calamity. 

Mothers had naked infants clasped to their bosoms; fathers 
stood in front of their crumpled houses digging madly at the ruins 
beneath which lay the bodies of their dead wives and children. 

Families were scattered all over the city, fathers and mothers 
seeking their children and the latter seeking their parents. In hun- 
dreds of instances whole families were wiped out of existence. 

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, including practically all 
the public edifices of the city. Survivors were sheltered beneath 
boxes and carts. 

Even smal*l boats on the beach were turned bottom side up and 
beneath these many unfortunates were sheltered from the elements. 
To add to the horror of the situation ghouls plundered the dead, 
but this was stopped to a great extent by the soldiers, who guarded 
the city, with orders to shoot down any thief on sight. 

Survivors said that for half an hour before the quake the heav- 
ens were filled with a gorgeous display of light resembling the 
aurora borealis. 

It required an army of 25,000 men to rescue the living entrapped 
in the ruins and to bury the dead. 

An Englishman named Barrett after the first shock at Messina 
found himself and his wife and child between mattresses on the 
ground and buried under the debris of the house, which had com- 
pletely collapsed. 



The Desteuction of Messina. 35 

With difficulty lie managed to extricate himself, but he was una- 
ble to save his wife and child, and they, imploring help, died of 
suffocation almost within reach. 

WORSE THAN GREATEST WAR. 

The minister of war, in dispatching orders to the military 
authorities, who have practically taken over the absolute power 
throughout the zone of the earthquake, explained: 

"This disaster has resulted in a greater loss of life than any of 
our wars for independence. Indeed, the situation is much worse, as 
while war is always preceded by a period of preparation, this has 
happened within forty seconds. While war only affects the young 
and strong among the people, the present calamity has mowed down 
women and children, old men and youths. While in war the armies 
are followed by the most complete camp hospitals, the numberless 
wounded in Calabria and eastern Sicily have been left in many 
cases forty-eight homrs without assistance. Even when rescued it 
was impossible to house them, everything available having been 
filled by the dead. Lack of care and starvation completed the work 
of death that the force of nature had left undone. ' ' 

The commander of the Therapie gives a thrilling description of 
the rescues effected by his men when his ship arrived at Messina 
from Malta under instructions to convey the survivors to Naples. 

TWEl^TTY Bia FIRES RAGE. 

"Twenty different conflagrations were raging. As the vessel 
drew up before the city it was surrounded by a flotilla of boats and 
tugs loaded to the gunwales with men and women who piteously 
cried for food and drink, for they had nothing for twenty-four 
hours. 

"On entering the port a tremendous clamor greeted their ears. 
It was the survivors screaming for help. 

"From the water front Messina appeared to be intact, as the 
facades of the fine buildings along that line of streets still were 
standing, but behind was emptiness and ruin. 

"The principal square presented an awe inspiring aspect. 



36 The Destkuction of MESSiifTA. 

Everywliere ^ere enormous cracks, into whicL. the sea poured, 
whence clouds of steam and sulphurous vapors arose. 

"To the right, before a big crumbling building, were heaped 
many corpses, whose desperate attitudes and contorted features 
showed the horror of the death struggles. 

''The crew landed, but the work of rescue was most difficult. 
The ruins formed hillocks thirty feet high, under which thousands 
of persons were buried. 

''The steamer was soon loaded down to its utmost capacity 
with survivors and then steamed to Naples. ' ' 

SCYLIA AND CHAEYBDIS GONE. 

All along the waj^ it was seen that the smiling villages on the 
Calabrian coast had been wrecked. Both Scylla and Charybdis 
suffered with the rest. 

One tragic johase of the disaster was the fight for life made by 
the prisoners in the jail above Messina. There were nearly 1,000 
of these, including 300 women. 

The building collapsed at the first shock and the inmates were 
caught like rats. Several rows of cells remained intact, and those 
who were locked within them could be heard pounding the walls 
and crying aloud for help. 

Then came another shock, which completed the destruction. All 
were killed with the exception of the few who had escaped after the 
first shock. 

Men devoured raw meat like animals and fought to the death 
for crusts of bread unearthed in the wreckage of houses. 

DYING OF THIEST MEN WALK STREETS. 

Starving men dying with thirst wandered through the streets 
or threw common sense to the winds and dared insanity by gulping 
down salt sea water. 

Bands of Messinians too weak to flee from the ruined city 
struggled through the valleys amid the debris crying out in tbeir 
grief for bread and water. Scores fell and died in their tracks; 
others, unable to endure the suffering, committed suicide. 



The Destkuction op Messina. 37 

"Women, rendered desperate by tlie wails of their infants and 
knowing that succor could not come in time to outwit death, dashed 
their children to death. 

Insane men and women, their horrifying shrieks filling the air, 
scrambled over the wrecks of houses, praying and calling on the 
saints for mercy. 

BIRDS or PREY IN CLOUDS AT MESSINA. 

Scenes of the weirdest nature were being enacted at Messina 
and other ruined cities. Grim messages reached Palermo to the 
effect that clouds of crows and buzzards had descended on the 
stricken district, having crossed the sea in response to some mys- 
terious intuition of the disaster. In Messina the rescuers fre- 
quently encountered processions of naked persons bearing images 
of the saints. It was exceedingly difficult to deal with these fren- 
zied survivors. 

DIE GNAWING THEIR ARMS. 

Dead bodies were found which bore mute testimony of the tor- 
ture endured before death relieved their sufferings. Several of 
these persons died gnawing at their arms and hands, evidently de- 
lirious from pain and hunger. Other bodies brought from the 
ruins had portions of shawls and particles of clothing in their 
mouths and one woman had her teeth firmly fixed in the leg of a 
dead baby. 

The archbishop of Messina was found, still living, in the ruins 
of his palace, for several days after the disaster. 

Numberless charred bodies were found indicating deaths too 
terrible to contemplate. 

SCORES OF DEAD ARE FOUND IN STATION. 

In many cases the bodies were but slightly burned, death refus- 
ing an early escape to the victims. The features of these were 
terribly distorted. 

The railway station at Messina, where many people gathered 
after the first shock, hoping to escape by train, was uncovered, 



'38 The Desteuction of Messina. 

revealing scores of corpses packed together. The number of dead 
here was not even counted, the rescuers having more urgent work 
to do. 

The military and naval authorities there, who were requested 
by the government to ascertain the names and number of the 
foreign visitors present in the city when the earthquake occurred, 
replied that the task was entirely impossible, since there was no 
material on which to work. The town simply was taken out of 
existence. Thousands of telegrams lie undelivered because there is 
no place at which to deliver them. The inhabitants are either dead 
or missing. 

ANXIETY IN AMERICA. 

The people of America, during the early reports of the Catas- 
trophe were greatly concerned for many friends and relatives who 
were traveling in Italy and who had not been heard from for 
several weeks. This continued for many days but finally with the 
aid of the American Ambassador all were found, the last few 
being located at T'aormina which escaped the earthquake. 

The soldiers in Messina were obliged to shoot down looters in 
great numbers. The troops were rendered desperate by the crimes 
of ghouls, and General Fiera di Cassato issued orders to show no 
mercy to robbers. Many caught in the act were shot or bayoneted. 
Two soldiers guarding bread were killed by the famished quake 
mob in Messina. 

EIGHT nKE WILD BEASTS EOR FOOD. 

Bands of famished individuals grouped among the debris in 
the hope of discovering food. The first of the searchers who were 
successful were attacked by others with revolvers and knives and 
were obliged to defend their finds literally with their lives. 

The struggle was fierce. The famished men threw themselves 
upon each other like wolves and several fell disemboweled in de- 
fending a handful of dry beans or a lew ounces of flour. One of 
the unfortunates was pinned to a plank by a knife while clinging 
to his hand was his little child, for whom he had sought food. 



The Destetjotion of Messina. 39 

The guard of troops was wholly insufficient to protect the dead 
and dying from the ravages of ghouls and robhers. A number of 
fights occured between soldiers and citizens and the marau- 
ders, but the latter were no sooner suppressed in one place 
than they reappeared in another. The water supply rapidly be- 
came exhausted. The quake destroyed many of the sources. 

Dogs went mad in a number of towns and attacked the people 
savagely. 

Four million dollars was recovered at Messina from the ruins 
of the Bank of Sicily by Russian sailors and turned over to the 
Italian naval commander. 

LOOTING BY MADDENED MOB. 

Just as the British steamer Ebro was preparing to leave Mes- 
sina with refugees an outburst of frightful cries was heard from 
the shore. The refugees on board saw a crowd of maddened per- 
sons of every age break into the custom-house. Some were naked, 
others half-clothed, and they all were mud-spattered and half- 
demented. Many were injured and bleeding. They sacked every- 
thing that came to their hands, seeking food, drink and clothing. 
Revolver shots were heard over the horrible din and confusion. 
Finally tongues of flame shot up in the darkness, showing that fire 
was completing the work of destruction. 

This was only one of the many scenes of anguish and horror 
that could be seen from the decks of the Ebro. Messina was burn- 
ing, and masses of flames in the darkness showed where fire was 
completing the destruction of the earthquake. A few skeleton 
houses here and there were all that remained of the once beautiful 
and prosperous town. 

Ghoul-like figures flitted in the semi-darkness, risking their lives 
among the tottering ruins, not to assist the agonized suffering, but 
in the fiendish strivings to profit by the appalling disaster which 
had overwhelmed the city. They were robbing the dead and dying 
and acquiring possessions which they had no means of protecting 
or conveying away. 

Prof. Ginochetti reported that out of seventy persons living in 
the same house with him only twelve were saved, and that for 



40 The Desteuction or Messina. 

twenty-eight liours tliese survivors were cruslied together under 
the protecting arch of a window, not daring to move. 

Another, Prof. Felici, related that he was in bed when the first 
shock happened. Almost immediately the ceiling fell upon him 
and he found himself lying in a kind of cell formed hy the ceiling 
supported by the head of the bedstead, which was bent inward 
The professor, in his night attire, managed to clear a way through 
the debris, and, seeing a portion of the main wall of the house still 
standing, suiDported by a mass of masonry which had fallen against 
it, he climbed on top of it and waited there for further shocks. 

An interesting narrative is given by Prof. Ciaffi, who was living 
in the Piazza San Paolo. His wife was dressing when the shock 
occurred. She immediately woke her eight children, and, thrust- 
ing some garments on them, she and her husband dragged and 
carried the,m down the main stairs of the house, of which part of 
the walls already were falling. 

FOOD FOUND IN WRECKED SHOP. 

The family, barefooted and half clothed, took refuge in another 
piazza, where they found themselves surrounded by a high circle 
of mins. The children were shivering half naked in the cold, and 
the professor and his eldest boy managed to climb out over the 
encircling pile of ruins and after some search found a baker's shop 
and wineshop, from which they took bread and a bottle of cognac. 

In the meanwhile other survivors found their way to the same 
piazza. Among them were Prof. Radice and a young girl, the 
whole of whose family of five persons lay under the ruins of their 
house. The poor girl was stupefied by her misfortune. 

Perhaps the most tragic note was struck by an elderly couple, 
who described how they were imprisoned in the lower part of the 
ruined house. They could onh^ cry for help and heard no answer 
save other cries for help from the darkness round them. 

LISTENERS CRAWL IN RUINS. 

A number of specially picked men were silently and slowly 
crawling among the ruins at Messina, listening for sounds that 



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The Destruction op Messina. 43 

might indicate the presence of wounded persons still unrescued. 
They had acquired such sensitiveness of hearing that they could 
detect the faintest sigh, and thus buried victims of the earthquake 
were often recovered. 

The searcher on hearing a sound marked the place with a red 
cross and summoned the salvage squad, which huiTied to the spot 
and unearthed the sufferer. Many were thus almost miraculously 
saved, the mass of debris having been i^revented providentially 
from crushing them to death. 

In some cases four or five bodies were discovered together, 
some dead and others living. Many of the rescued were in a ter- 
rible condition. Sometimes the mere exposure to the air would 
bring to a close a life hanging by a thread, and sometimes the sud- 
den restoration to the sunlight brought on blindness. 

One man who had been taken out of the ruins unconscious asked 
for bread when he recovered his senses and died while eating it. 
The soldiers who were present took the half eaten crust from the 
dead man's mouth and gave it to a starving sufferer who was lying 
near. 

NEARLY ALL OFFICIALS KILLED. 

For several hours after the first destructive shock Messina was 
absolutely without organized relief, for the reason that the munic- 
ipal officials, the soldiers, the police, doctors and nurses by the 
hundred were either buried or drowned. 

The first work of rescue was performed by volunteers from 
ships in the harbor and groups of heroic survivors, who, at great 
labor and personal danger, extricated many persons jDinioned be- 
neath the wreckage. 

Messina's crying need was for doctors, clothing and food, and 
firemen to combat the flames that continued to ravage the city. 

FOREIGN WARSHIPS AS HOSPITALS. 

Doctors, nurses and firemen were hurried into the wrecked 
. city, but the lack of food and water made the work of rescue difii- 
cult. The Russian and British warships at Messina sent crews 
ashore and the vessels were transformed into hospitals. 



4-4: The Bestructiof or Messina. 

All the hospitals in Catania were crowded, and even the schools 
were converted into infirmaries. 

The less serionsly injured of the survivors of Messina were dis- 
patched by the hundreds to Palermo. 

Minister of Public Works Bertolini on arrival at Messina or- 
ganized several corps of volunteers for rescue work. 

TURN BACKS ON TOUTURED VICTIMS. 

Eefugees, telling of their escape, related that after escaping 
from their ruined houses they waited in terror for the coming of 
light. They then made their way over the obstructions in the streets 
to the open places. They had to leave behind them under the 
ruins countless victims, who called for help in heartrending tones. 
It is asserted that probably half the fatalities occurred because it 
was impossible for the survivors to render prompt assistance. Not 
the least of the suffering was caused by the downpour of cold rain. 

Some of the refugees from Messina passed through San Gio- 
vanni, Palmi, Scilla, Cannitello, Favizzana and Bagnara and found 
practically every one of the villages destroyed. 

DEPUTY'S SEAEGH FOE BEOTHEE. 

Sig. Fulci, a member of the chamber of deputies from Messina, 
together with the members of his family, was also reported dead. 
The Fulci family was one of the most prominent in Catania. 

Ludovico Fulci, also a deputy, refused to abandon the wreck 
of his brother's home. He remained there working with bleeding 
hands and half dead from fatigue, determined to remain until he 
found the body of his brother. 

One of the survivors picked up at sea by the steamer Washing- 
ton was a man named Francesco Lojacono. He was wounded and 
unconscious. On reviving he called wildly for his wife and chil- 
dren. 

All efforts to quiet him were useless, and he insisted that the 
steamer iDut him ashore. 

Finally he became bereft of his senses and, springing suddenly 
to his feet, he jumped overboard, still calling for his wife and 
babies. 



The Desteuction of Messina. ^^ 

He started swimming toward the land, but soon disappeared 
beneath the waves. 

The British steamer Ebro entered Palermo from Messina with 
sixteen wounded, including Alfred J. Ogston, the British vice- 
consul at Messina. Mrs. Ogston lost her life. 

DAMAGE ALL DONE IN 23 SECONDS. 

Technical observations from the observatory at Messina indi- 
cated the earthquake lasted for twenty-three seconds only. 

It was accompanied by remarkable atmospheric phenomena. 
The surcharged air was filled with sparks and flashes of flame, 
which flared up until the heavens seemed afire. The crest of the 
earth appeared suddenly to drop. These phenomena were followed 
by distinct lateral oscillations that threw the panic-stricken people 
off their feet as they rushed to the streets. 

Another of these who escaped said: 

''The earth seemed suddenly to drop and then turn violently 
on its axis. The whole population, who practically were precipi- 
tated from the houses rent in twain, were spun around like tops as 
they ran through the streets. Many fell crushed to death, and 
others, bewildered, took refuge for breath beside the tottering 
walls, where they soon met the fate of their companions." 

The following graphic story was told by a woman who arrived 
in Catania from Messina hadij injured : 

" 'Infernal' is the only word that will adequately describe the 
fearful and terrifying scene," she said. 

AWAKENED BY HOUSE EOCKING. 

"When the first shock came most of the city was fast asleep. 
I was awakened by the rocking of the house. Windows swayed 
and rattled and crockery and glass crashed to the floor. The next 
moment I was violently thrown out of my bed to the floor. 

"I was half stunned, but knew that the only thing to do was to 
make my way outdoors. The streets were filled. Everybody had 
rushed out in their night clothes, heedless of the rain falling in tor- 
rents. Terrified shrieks arose from all sides, and we heard heart- 



46 The Desteuction of Messii^a. 

rending appeals for help from the unfortunates pinned beneath 
the ruins. 

LIVES WERE DESPAIRED OF. 

''Walls were tottering all around us, and not one of my party 
expected to escape alive. My brothers and sisters were with me, 
and in a frenzy of terror we groped our way through the streets, 
holding our own against the panic-stricken people, clambering oyer 
piles of ruins, until we finally reached a place of comparative 
safety. But this was not done before I was struck down and badly 
injured by a piece of furniture that fell out of the upper story of a 
house. 

''All along the road we were jostled by scores of fleeing people, 
half clad, like ourselves. The houses seemed to be crashing to the 
ground in whatever direction we turned. 

SEA CAME WITH ROAR. 

"S^uddenly the sea began to pour into the town. It seemed to 
me that this must mean the end' of everything. The oncoming 
waters rolled in a huge wave, accompanied by a terrifying roar. 

' ' The sky was aglow with the reflection of burning palaces and 
other buildings, and as if this were not enough, there suddenly 
shot up into the sky a huge burst of flame, followed by a crash 
that seemed to shake the whole town. This probably was the gas 
works blowing up. 

"Eventually we reached the principal square of Messina. Here 
we found 2,000 or 3,000 utterly terrified people assembled. None 
of us knew what to do. We waited in an agony of fear. Men and 
women prayed, groaned, and shrieked. I saw one of the big build- 
ings fronting on the square collapse. It seemed to me that scores 
of persons were buried beneath the ruins. Then I lost conscious- 
ness and I remember no more." 

STUPEFIED WITH TERROR. 

Refugees poured into Catania by trains, steamers and automo- 
biles. They were half naked and stupefied with terror and suffer- 



The Destruction of Messina. 47 

ing. Some of them appeared almost insane from the horrors 
through which they had gone. In the beginning they could only 
babble, ''Messina has been devastated; the city has been annihi- 
lated." Little by little some idea of the indescribable horror at 
Messina was obtained from these unfortunates. 

They declared that thousands of demented survivors were still 
wandering about among the ruins of the city. A wounded soldier 
said: 

"The spectacle was terrifying beyond words. Dante's 'In- 
ferno' gives you but a faint idea as to what happened at Messina. 
The first shock came before the sun had arisen. It shook the city 
to its very foundations. Immediately the houses began to crumble. 
Those of us who were not killed at once made our way over undu- 
lating floors to the street. Beams were crashing down through 
the rooms, and the stairs were equally unsafe. 

SAW LIMBS MOVING HELPLESSLY. 

"I found the streets blocked by fallen houses. Balconies, 
chimneys, bell towers, entire walls, had been thrown down. From 
every side of me arose the screams and moanings of the 
wounded. The people were half mad with excitement and fear. 
Most of them had rushed out in their night clothes. In a little 
while we were all shivering under a torrential downpour of rain. 
Everywhere 'there were dead bodies, nude, disfigured, and mutil- 
ated. In the ruins I could see arms and legs moving helplessly. 
From every quarter came piteous appeals for aid. 

' ' The portion of the town down near the water was inundated 
by the tidal wave. The water reached to the shoulders of the fugi- 
tives and swept them away. 

GREAT BTJILDmGS CRUMBLE. 

"The city hall, the cathedral, and the barracks crumbled, and 
churches, other public buildings, and dwellings without number 
were literally razed. There were 200 customs agents at the bar- 
racks ; only forty-one of them were saved. At the railroad station 
only eight out of 280 employes have been accounted for. 



48 The Desteuction of Messika. 

''Many of those who succeeded in escaping with their lives are 
incapable of relating their experiences coherently. I questioned 
all who were in a condition to talk. Most of them told the same 
story. The}^ said the first thing they knew they were thrown out 
of bed, and, amid crashing and falling furniture, managed to make 
their way to the street. Then in the blackness of night and amid 
a pouring rain that added to their horror and distress they rushed 
blindly away amid the crash of tumbling buildings and the shrieks 
and groans of those buried in the ruins. Many while trying tO' es- 
cape were struck down by falling balconies and masonry, and still 
many others lost their reason and are today wandering aimlessly 
in the open fields outside the city or u^) and down the ruined streets 
they knew so well. 

' ' The looters and the robbers were shot down dead by the rifles 
of the soldiers." 



CHAPTER II. 
IN JAWS OF DEATH. 

In the Jaws of Death, Yet Live — Some More Than Thrilling Experiences by 
Survivors — A Night of the Blackest Horrors — Men, Women and Chil- 
dren See the Lives of Their Dear Ones Taken from Them in an Instant 
— Some Single Survivors of Large Families. 

Many of the survivors were wliite-haired, their hair having 
changed its color in a few days. Others went mad with terror and 
were able only to mutter incoherent ravings. Some were able to 
give more connected accounts. 

Constantine Doresa, a London ship broker, was the first to 
reach London from Messina, where he had a wonderful escape. 

He was staying at the Trinacria hotel with an English friend 
named Craiger. His bedroom was on the third floor facing the 
sea. 

''It was a dark, still night, the coldest I ever felt in Sicily," he 
said. ''I went to bed late after putting an extra covering on the 
bed. I was awakened without warning at 5 :25. 

BED RISES UP AND DOWN. 

"The bed first rose up and then went down violently. I 
clutched the sides of the bed, which seemed to be falling through 
space for ages. Afterwards I estimated the time to be ten seconds. 

"Then came a series of awful crashes; the roof was falling all 
around me. I was smothered in brick and plaster. 

"I knew it was an earthquake. I had been in one before in 
Athens. Then followed terrific crashes, mingled with a continuous 
roar. I felt for matches, struck a light, and was horrified to find 
my bed on the side of an abyss. ' ' 

Doresa discovered Craiger and from the ruins rescued a Swede 
and his wife. Amid the appalling surroundings they succeeded 
in reaching the quay side and getting aboard the Cardiff steamer 
Afonwen, 



50 In the Jaws of Death. 

Doresa then organized a rescue party composed of tHe Afon- 
wen's master, Capt. Owen, three of his sailors, and several Rus- 
sian sailors. With Doresa and Craiger all returned to the Hotel 
Trinacria with ladders and ropes. 

EISKS LIFE FOR CHILDREN. 

On the balcony of a ruined building stood two little children 
crying for help. The building seemed ready to collapse at any 
moment. Second Mate Read of the Afonwen did not hesitate. 

The children were directed to lower a string with a stone tied 
to it. They understood presently, and a piece of stone was seen 
coming down. Meantime Read placed a ladder against the lower 
balcony. Then he turned to one of his seamen, who was standing 
by, and said: 

''Now then, Smith." "I shuddered," Doresa continued. "It 
seemed like sure death. Smith turned his quid in his mouth and 
without a word went up the ladder to the first balcony to the string 
which had been let down by the children. 

"He attached a light line, which the children hauled up and 
tied it around one of the standards at the top of the balcony. By 
this means Stoith hauled up a two and one-half inch manila rope. 

SHINS UP BESIDE CRAZY RUIN. 

''He then took of£ his boots in a trice, shinning up the rope be- 
side the crazy ruin. I held my breath. I have read many brave 
deeds, but I never heard of one braver than Smith's. 

"When he reached the top of the balcony he leaned over and 
shouted : 

" 'Why, there's ten of them up here. I can't manage all of 
them myself.' 

"Capt. Owens turned to Read. It was enough. 

"In a second Read was shinning up the rope hand over hand. 
We watched him with fear clutching our hearts. 

' ' There was a sigh of relief when we saw him standing heside 
SImith at the top of the building, which seemed to be rocking to its 
fall every second. 




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THE AGONY AND PARALYSIS OF FEAR. 

The inhabitants in their night clothes rushing from the crumbling buildings to 

safety, only to meet an awful death from falling timbers and 

masonry. Parents carrying infants clasped to thei'' 

breasts trying to protect the little ones. 



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Tn the Jaws of Death. 55 

''The men aloft soon got to work. One of Capt. Owens' ap- 
prentices rendered great assistance. I stood at the foot of the 
ladder to prevent its slipping. 

FACE COLLAPSE OF BUILDING. 

"The moments were flying. We did not know how soon the 
whole thing would collapse. 

''An Italian workman stood staring at us. I begged him to 
lend a hand, but his face only assumed a more vacuous expression, 
if that were possible, and we were left to do the work ourselves. 

''Eead and Smith made their hawsers fast. Then one by one 
they lowered the cowering creatures who had been awaiting death. 

"From that crazy height up to ten times the rope was lowered, 
each time with a child resting in a slip noose the sailors had forged. 

THEN COMES STOUT WOMAN. 



(i\ 



Then came an old woman who was stout. We had a great 
deal of trouble to get her down, but managed it at last. 

"There was one man among the crowd of survivors. Smith 
threatened to throw him off the building unless he helped to lower 
the old lady. 

"At last the brave rescuers came down on the rope themselves. 
They had saved twelve people from certain death. 

COOL AS IF ON GROUND. 

"They worked as coolly as if they had been on the ground. 
They had been in imminent danger of their lives, yet when they 
came down they quite resented our congratulations. 

"There was other work for us near by. We heard piercing 
cries from a woman buried to the waist in the ruins of a shop. The 
buildings around her were blazing. 

"Slowly but surely the cruel flames were creeping nearer to 
her. Could she be saved? 

"Capt. Owens gave a sharp word of command and soon Eead 
was rushing to the Blake, a ship; moored at the quay. In a few 
minutes he wa§ back with a saw. 



56 In the Jaws of Death. 

*'He dashed through the raging' flames and began with frantic 
energy to saw through the plank that held the woman fast. "We 
waited in terrible suspense. 

' ' Then with relief we saw the plank fall away and Eead came 
through the flames bearing the rescued woman in his arms. 

ITALIAN OEEICEE APPSECIATES. 

'^ Just at this moment an Italian of&cer came up. He witnessed 
this scene, and asked me the name of the ship the men belonged to, 
and said he would send an account of their splendid bravery to his 
government, and he hoped they would recognize it. 

' ' '■ Meantime, ' he added, ' I can only thank them for their heroic 
efforts.' 

''At this moment we heard cries from back of the Hotel Trin- 
acria, which had been left standing. 

RESCITE MAN AT HOTEL. 

''We saw Sig. Cogni, a gentleman staying at the hotel, stand- 
ing on a narrow ledge. We managed to rescue him. 

"After rescuing others the party returned to the Afonwen, 
loaded a boat with food, and returned to the shore to distribute it. 

"Capt. Owens left me in charge of the boat while he carried 
out the distribution. While I was guarding, five Italian soldiers 
came up and tried to seize it in order to escape to the mainland. 

FIGHTS OFF HUNGHY SOLDIEPvS. 

' ' I knew it was our only hope, so I drew a revolver and threat- 
ened to shoot the first man who touched it. They made oif. 

"Every moment was one of terror. 

' ' There were from twenty to thirty shocks during the day. 

"Prowling among the ruins were panic-stricken fugitives and 
escaped prisoners, the latter looting. 

' ' I saw wretches hacking off the fingers of the dead to get their 
rings. Nothing came amiss for them. 

VANDALS STEAL EVEN SHOES. 

"In one case they raided a woman's shoe shop, and marched 
out with all the latest Paris and London creations, 



In the Jaws of Death. 57 

''We were cut off from the world. All the wires were down, 
and the cables across the strait destroyed. 

''We could not see the lights of Eeggio, which told of destruc- 
tion there. All things seemed to be returning to savagery. 

"Then early Tuesday morning we saw some silent gray mon- 
sters tearing up the strait, and we could soon distinguish the ships* 
ensigns. 

BRITISH FLEET HAD COME! 

"The British fleet had come. It brought the first help from 
the outside world. 

"It brought surgeons, medical appliances, food and clothing. 

"As soon as the sailors landed they began to restore order. It 
was soon found that stern measures were necessary. Eifles were 
brought and the looters were treated with scant ceremony. 

"Martial law had been proclaimed, and the thieves were shot 
at sight. 

' ' The presence of these bodies of disciplined men had a remark- 
able and immediate effect. 

RUSSIANS GIVE GOOD SERVICE. 

"I must not forget to say a word about the Eussians. Some 
Russian warships arrived in. the afteraoon of Tuesday. They im- 
mediately got to work. 

' ' It was curious to notice the difference between them and our 
men. 

' ' They did not have the machine-like discipline or our peculiar 
handiness, which enables our sailors to do everything that comes 
along, but they showed wonderful kindliness and sympathy. 

"I watched the big Eussian sailors gently handling little chil- 
dren and soothing their fears with simple words which, although 
in a foreign tongue, seemed to calm the little ones. 

SLAVS GENTLE AS WOMEN. 

"They were just as gentle with the wounded, handling them 
with almost womanly tenderness, 

^' As Tuesday wore on things began to assume an altered aspect. 



58 In the Jaws of Death. 

The wounded, wherever it was possible, were taken to the ships 
and sent to Palermo and Naples. 

"The dead were buried where it was possible. It will be days 
before many of the corpses can be reached. My local agent, for 
instance, who had my money on him, is buried thirty feet deep 
under the ruins of his office. 

THOSE WHO ESCAPED IN HOTEL. 

"It is stated in some of the papers that all the people in the 
Hotel Trinacria perished. As a matter of fact, the following is 
a list of the only people who were saved of the eighty in the hotel : 

"Craiger, a Swedish woman, a gentleman and child, one cham- 
bermaid, one waiter, Sig. Cogni, Mile. Karelech, the proprietor. 

"It has been said that navigation of the strait of Messina has 
been rendered unsafe. I should like to correct that statement. 

SHIPS GO THROUGH STRAITS. 



if 



1 saw several vessels go through Monday night, but there is 
no doubt that vast changes have been brought about in the bed of 
the strait. The Afonwen was lying at anchor on forty-five fath- 
oms of water. When she weighed anchor Capt. Owens found 
there were only thirty fathoms. 

"As to the people of Messina, I cannot say they did much to 
help. They seemed to be completely panic-stricken, but their need 
is great and their distress appalling. Having escaped death my- 
self I can speak feelingly for the helpless people of Messina." 

The above report is considered the most connected and com- 
plete story of the disaster. 

FALLING WALLS KILL RESERVES AT WORK. 

The commander of the Russian cruiser Admiral Marakoif, 
which arrived with refugees from Messina, told a thrilling story. 

"Hearing at Agosta, Sicily, of the disaster," said he, "I hur- 
ried my ship to Messina. The city is literally nothing but a heap 
of ruins. Every building there has collapsed, but in many cases 
the outward shells remain standing. 



In the Jaws of Death. 59 

'^It is impossible even to give a faint idea of the desolation of 
the scene. Every now and then we heard the crash of falling floors 
and walls. This constitutes the greatest danger to the rescuers. 
It is not safe to approach any standing masonry. Men from my 
vessel had many narrow escapes, and I saw several terrible acci- 
dents to the brave Italian soldiers, who were doing more than their 
duty. 

''We lost no time in setting about the work of rescue. We es- 
tablished an open air hospital on the shore, where we received and 
treated a thousand people, men, women and children. We also 
saved the safe of the Bank of Sicily with its treasure of $2,000,000, 
weighing two tons. I estimate the deaths at Messina conserA'-atively 
at 80,000. 

' ' The mind shrinks from contemplation of the present condition 
in the stricken city ; that there are thousands of persons still alive 
in the ruins, and that countless numbers must die. 

TWO BABIES PIAYING IN MIDST OF DEATH. 

"I could relate pathetic stories without number. 

''Under some wreckage inclosed in a kind of little cubby hole 
and protected by two heavy beams I discovered two little babies 
safe and uninjured. They were comfortable as possible, laughing 
and playing with the buttons on their clothes. We could- find no 
trace of their parents, who undoubtedly lost their lives. Many 
little, ones live while their parents are dead, and we saw many 
mothers with dead babies in their arms." 

SOUND OF DISASTER LIKE THOUSAND BOMBS. 

A young doctor named Rossi, at Messina, gives a vivid account 
of his experiences. His escape was remarkable, and by his calm- 
ness and energy he was able to rescue others from imminent death. 
The doctor was preparing to leave Messina by an early train Mon- 
day morning, the day of the disaster. "Suddenly the profound 
silence was broken by an extraordinary noise like the bursting of 
a thousand bombs," he says. "This was followed by a rushing 
and torrential rain. Then I heard a sinister whistling sound that 



go In the Jaws of Death. 

I can liken to a thousand red-hot iron rods hissing in water. Sud- 
denly there came violent rhythmic movements of the earth and 
the crashing down of nearby walls made me realize the awful fact 
of the earthquake. Falling glass, bursting roofs and a thick cloud 
of dust added to the horror of the situation, while the extraordi- 
nary double movement, rising and falling at the same time, 
crumbled walls and imperiled my life. 

*'I rushed into the room where were my mother and sister, and, 
with a rope which fortunately I had with me, I succeeded in rescu- 
ing them. I was also successful in getting out of the house a 
number of other persons who had given themselves up for lost. 

DRAG CHILDEEN AND WOMEN FROM RUINS. 

"Then some soldiers came and helped me, and together we 
dragged forth several women and children from the tottering walls 
of a half-destroyed palace near by. A few seconds later this build- 
ing was demolished. 

"There were scenes of indescribable horror in the streets and 
squares through which my party made its way. We finally gained 
the open country." 

MAYOR TELLS OF HIS ESCAPE FROM DEATH. 

Paolo Eizo, the mayor of Capriolo, after he escaped to Eome, 
gave the following account : He was in Messina on a pleasure trip 
that fateful Monday morning. He was awakened by the fearful 
roar of the first shock. The floor of his room fell, and, half con- 
scious, he was precipitated into a mass of rubbish. His body 
lodged in a niche in a wall and he was pinned down by a heavy 
beam, his face being covered by a carpet that threatened to suffo- 
cate him. He managed to move the carpet with his teeth until he 
made an opening in the folds through which he could breathe. 

The man lay in this position for five hours, expecting death at 
any moment. Had it been possible, he says, he would have com- 
mitted suicide. Once hope sprung up in his breast. A man passed 
by and the mayor called to him. "What do you want?" asked the 
newcomer. 



In the Jaws of Death. 61 

''^Vliat do I T^ant?" repeated tlie mayor. ''Isn't it clear? 
Help nie get out of here. ' ' But just at this moment another shock 
came and the man ran away, leaving the mayor again alone. 

Finally the proprietor of the hotel where the mayor had been 
stopping came and effected his release. 

UNIVERSITY PEOFESSOR WHO LOST SONS TELLS OF HORROR. 

Dr. Palermo of the University of Messina escaped to Naples 
with his wife. The doctor lost two sons in the wreck at Messina. 
He told a thrilling story of the scenes immediately following the 
first shock. Said he : 

''I was sleeping when thrown out of bed by the shock. 
The ceiling collapsed and the floor opened at the same time. I 
dropped through to the ground floor. A woman who occupied this 
floor escaped without injury, and my wife and I helped her search 
for her sister and son, whom we found dead. 

''We remained all day and night alone and without help, keep- 
ing the rain off by planks. We were without food or drink, and 
the screams of those buried alive around us were terrible. Their 
cries mostly ceased during the night, but no one came to our assist- 
ance. 

ESCAPE TO A WARSHIP. 

"We were as if in a tomb lying alongside the dead bodies of 
our children. The womided lying around, but invisible in the 
ruins, were weeping in despair or shrieking at every sound from 
without. When we finally escaped from the ruins we were taken 
by sailors to the warship Christoforo Colombo, which brought us 
to Naples. 

"Messina is entirely destroyed. A hundred thousand men 
could save only a few lives, though the Palazzata, which is by the 
sea, was still standing when we left. The town hall was burning 
as we departed and fires were bursting out on all sides. We passed 
through streets that felt as if they were the bottoms of valleys, or 
climbed over the heights which were all that remained of the finest 
palaces of Messina." 



62 In the Jaws of Death. 

The minister of marine received word that the steamships Taor- 
mina and Campania, with 45,000 beds and a large supply of pro- 
visions aboard had left Genoa bound for Messina. Other steamers 
also bountifully stocked, were on their way to the stricken cities 
from various ports. 

Lieut. "Wolffsohn, on board the steamer Theraspia, off Naples, 
wrote the following : ' ' This steamer is crowded with refugees from 
Messina, bereaved men, starving women, weeping children, all 
with the stamp of a great fear still upon their faces. 

' ' Their tales of the catastrophe and of their own escapes are as- 
tonishing." Here is the story of a man employed by a G-erman cot- 
ton firm in the lost city : 

' ^ Messina is utterly destroyed. Nothing remained when I left 
but part of the citadel. A few soldiers are the lone survivors of 
the whole garrison, and here and there a house still stands, but 
ready to totter and fall at any moment. 

''I was asleep when the first shock awoke me. I lighted my 
lamp, but as all seemed quiet I lay down to sleep again. Suddenly 
there came more shocks, each more violent than the other and in- 
creasing to terrific force. I jumped out of bed and tried to get 
out of the room. 

HOUSE SWAYS LIKE COCKLESHELL. 

"The house was swaying like a cockleshell and my door was 
jammed. I could not get out that way, so turned to the window. 
Tearing the sheets from my bed into strips, I hastily made a rope 
and lowered myself to the street. A family of five persons escaped 
from the house by means of my rope. 

"No sooner were we in the street than the house collapsed. I 
tried to help in the work of rescue, but it was useless. The horror 
and confusion can hardly be described. 

"All day I wandered, half dazed from the awfulness of the 
scene. No food could be gotten and I had only a few nuts to eat. 
The head of the firm, who lost his brother, had to go through the 
streets begging for bread for his wife and children. There was 
no organization in the work of rescue. 




A SCENE OUTSIDE THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE. 

Survivors camped in front of a church. The old woman in front of the tent hold- 
ing the crucifix in her hands is offering prayers for her dead family. 



Ix THE Jaws of Death. 65 

CONVICTS SING AND MURDER. 

''The Messina prison was razed and the warders killed. Those 
of the convicts who escaped immediately unbridled their criminal 
instincts and prowled among the dead and dying, robbing and 
murdering unhindered. They cut off the fingers of the dead in 
their eagerness to secure the rings they wore. Nor were the 
wounded and helpless 'spared from this barbarism, but the looters 
hacked off the fingers of some who were still alive, paying no heed 
to their piteous cries for mercy. 

"Freedom to some of the convicts, even under such frightful 
auspices, was so intoxicating that they strode down the streets 
singing songs of liberty as they butchered and pillaged. ' ' 

The first act of these convicts when they gained their freedom 
was to exchange their prison garb for that of civilians, which they 
took wherever found, some getting tlie needed articles from 
wounded or dying men. Loot was their cry and they stopped at 
nothing, not even murder, to get it. 

In the stillneiss of the nights shots were frequently heard which 
told of some soldier having discovered one of these bands of rob- 
bers and was making them pay the i3enalty of death. 

Wherever possible in the daytime the tliieves were arrested and 
later tried by court martial. Many were found guilty and sen- 
tenced to be shot the next morning. 

One sui-vivor tells of seeing a soldier happening on a man rob- 
bing a dead woman of her rings. He leveled his gun and cried 
"I give you three minutes to say your prayers." At the end of 
that time he fired, killing him instantly. 

The Thciraspia brought thirty Germans and 600 other fugitives, 
among them a G-erman clergyman, with his child and his wife, who 
had her leg and her ribs broken in the collapse of their house. 
During the tragic voyage to Naples a woman gave birth to a child. 
Several -of the injured died on board. 

Dr. Gondo of Messina said he escaped by climbing over fallen 
roofs. The walls, he added, were falling in like houses of cards. 
A steam ferryboat in the harbor was lifted to the height of the 
quays by the tidal wave, then, as the water swirled back the boat 



56 In the Jaws of Death. 

touched bottom, leaving it poised upright oii the quay. Houses 
vanished with the suddenness of a dream. 

SHIP BEINGS DESPAIR TO CITY. 

Daylight showed nearly two miles of ruins. Steamers put out 
to cross the strait for help after the first shock of the catastrophe. 
Vessels from the opposite coast met them half way with the news 
that Reggio had vanished beneath the waters. 

The steamship Colombo arrived at Naples with refugees late 
Monday night. An anxious crowd awaited the arrival of the ves- 
sel. As she neared her dock a voice shouted from end of the pier: 

''Is Salvatore Coniardi there 1" 

"Yes," came the reply in a woman's voice from on board. 

"Are you all safe?" was shouted. 

* ' Yes, ' ' replied the woman. 

"What of Messina?" shouted half a dozen voices on the wharf. 

Aboard, over the rail of the steamer, a hundred arms were 
raised in gestures of despair, and deep cries arose: 

"Messina is no more; nothing remains." 

"How many are saved?" came in anguish from the pier. 

"Only we who are here," was the despairing answer from the 
vessel. 

OLD MAH CARRIES UNKNOWN BABY. 

Then the gangway was lowered. The meetings between refu- 
gees and their friends and relatives ashore were pathetic, but 
more pathetic were the failures to meet. Those in the crowd on 
the wharf who did not immediately see those they sought rushed 
about calling their names frantically and staggered off in despair 
when they could not find their loved ones. One of the refugees, 
an old man, stood aside, silent, with a baby girl in his arms. 

* ' Is she yours ? ' ' asked a woman. 

"iSTo ; I don't know whose," he answered. "I found her lying 
in the ruins. No one claimed her, so I brought her here." 

An officer of a torpedo boat, who saw the tragedy at Messina, 
said : 



In the Jaws of Death. 67 

''My vessel was lifted thirty feet by the tidal wave. Another 
wave rushed in from the straits and instantly the sea seemed cov- 
ered with corpses and refuse. When I raised my eyes nothing 
was visible save a vast cloud of dust, and near me the toppling 
skeletons of handsome buildings." 

The steamer Therespia sailed again for Messina with stores. 
Many of the fugitives who arrived on her ran panic-stricken from 
the ship, in some cases even abandoning their children. 

GREAT BRITAIN'S DIPLOMAT'S WIFE KILLED AT HIS SIDE. 

Mr. Ogston, British vice consul, arrived at Palermo uninjured 
with his little daughter. He said he was thrown out of bed by the 
first shock. His wife rushed to the cot where their child was sleep- 
ing and snatched her up. They then ran downstairs and found 
the street door blocked by wreckage. 

Escape that way was impossible, so they clambered on the bal- 
cony, which gave way, precipitating them to the street. Mrs. Og- 
ston was killed instantly, but the child was unhurt. 

Mr. Ogston picked up his daughter and ran at top speed to 
MuniciiDal square. Here there were about fifty persons gathered. 
Mr. Ogston added: 

''We quickly decided to make for the open country. We tore 
along the streets, while balconies, parapets, chimneys and walls 
toppled around us in a terrifying manner. The members of our 
little party were knocked down by. falling wreckage from time to 
time — sometimes one and sometimes half a dozen altogether — until 
we were reduced to a dozen, and by the time we reached the open 
country only four of us remained." 

One girl on board a steamer, her clothing tattered and torn, had 
saved a canary bird. She was a music hall singer, and had clung 
to her pet throughout the terrible scenes of devastation. The bird 
was the only happy thing on board the vessel. 

SOLDIER'S STRANGE STORY OF ESCAPE. 

The stories told by these unfortunate refugees are almost un- 
believable. A soldier, Emilio de Castro, relates that on Sunday, 



6S In the Jaws or Di:ATH. 

the day before the disaster, he was taken sick and was sent to the 
military hospital. Early Monday morning he was awakened by a 
tremendous roaring sound. He felt himself falling and thought 
he was in the grip of a nightmare. It seemed to him that he had 
awakened in hell, for the air was filled with terrifying shrieks. 

The soldier soon realized, however, what was happening. His 
bed struck the floor below and he was still on it. It paused a mo- 
ment and was again precipitated. He struck the next floor, but 
this gave way at once, and thus man and bed came down from the 
fifth floor of the hospital to the ground. The soldier was not in- 
jured. 

BIG HOTEL BEOKEN IN TWO BY aUAZES. 

A remarkable story of the destruction of the Trinaeria Hotel is 
told in a telegram received from Signora Carolath, a Hungarian 
opera singer, the leading soprano of a troupe which was giving a 
season of opera performances at the Vittorio Emmanuele theater 
in Messina. 

After setting at rest her friends' fears for her safety and for 
that of several other members of the company who are well known 
in Rome, she describes her experiences as follows : 

"The earthquake shock apparently broke the hotel building in 
half, one half falling at once, while the other portion, in which I 
was, remained standing unsteadily. My escape and that of the 
others in my part of the hotel was cut off, however. 

MATTESSS SAVES LIFE OF OPEEA SINGEE. 

' ' When I found that I could not get out by the stairs, which had 
fallen, I went to my room and, taking the heavy mattress from the 
bed, I threw it out of the window. Then I jumped out upon it. 
Although my room was on the third floor, two stories from the 
ground, the mattress broke my fall and I alighted without injury. 
Several of the other guests afterward escaped in the same way." 

Signora Carolath found shelter later in a refugee camp in the 
outskirts of the city. The names of other foreigners who escaped 
safely when the hotel fell were not learned. 



In the Jaws of Death. 69 

HOTEL RUIN DESCRIBED. 

Among those saved on board the Afonwen was Edward Ellis, 
an English visitor to Messina, 

"I was on the second floor of the Hotel Trinacria," he said. 
''When the earthquake began I was in bed asleep. It shot me out 
on the floor and then turned the bed on top of me. I managed 
to crawl out from under with practically nothing on me and made 
a frantic rush for the door, but found it impossible to open it. 

''I gave myself up for lost. Both floor and ceiling went crash- 
ing down and I was left hanging to the door. The room seemed 
whirling round and round and great gaps opened in the walls. A 
moment later everything collapsed and the whole structure fell. 
I landed on a heap of mattresses, clothing and furniture, and 
though much bruised was not disabled. 

''Eight in front of me in the black darkness I heard moaning. 
I put out my hand and touched something horrible. When I drew 
it back my hand was colored crimson. Some one was dying there, 
but I was unable to afford any help. 

' ' Gradually I worked my way out from the debris of the fallen 
hotel and finally was able to rise to my feet. I began to walk over 
ruins, but the earth was still heaving, and several times I fell. The 
thick dust was almost suffocating. All around rose cries for help. 
Two men rushed past me so frantically that I was again thrown 
down, but I got up and struggled on. 

STRUCK BY WOMAN'S BODY. 

"I felt that constantly I was treading on bodies, and perhaps 
on living persons. Once the body of a woman fell down on me from 
somewhere overhead. 

"I suppose I had walked two hours when suddenly I went waist 
deep into water. A man helped me out and pointed in the direction 
of Marina. But my troubles were not over. The wild figure of a 
man plastered with mud rose up before me and barred my passage. 
He was clearly mad, and only after a desperate struggle did I get 
away from him. 

"Next I found myself in a street where every house was on fire, 



70 In the Jaws of Death. 

and I saw no way out until a building fell down and smothered tlie 
fire sufficiently in one place to afford me a path over the rubbish. 

"Even then an enormous heap of wreckage lay in my way, 
which for some time I vainly tried to surmount. In my endeavors 
I fell into a deej> hole, but in it I found some pieces of furniture 
and half-broken steps, which helped me at last to climb to the top 
of the heap. 

''Weakened and exhausted, I slipped and began rolling help- 
lessly down the hillside and was unable to stop until I went splash- 
ing into the sea. This was the end of my troubles, for I was picked 
up and taken aboard the steamer. ' ' 

Achille Carara, agent general of the Steam Navigation company 
in Messina, gives an account of his experiences which throws a 
new light on the circumstances of the disaster in Messina. 

''I was thrown out of bed by the quake," he says. "Frantic 
with terror I shouted to my wife, my children, and my servants, 
assembling them under the arch of the window. The house rocked, 
but remained erect. 

"We dressed in the darkness and blinding dust while every- 
thing heaved about us. We staggered down the reeling staircase 
to the street which was choked with the ruins of the surrounding 
buildings. Masonry was falling, and the injured were shrieking 
from their tombs beneath the wreckage. The ground was split up 
everywhere. 

' ' Horror was piled on horror. The inky blackness pressed upon 
us with here and there a flame shooting out from the wreckage. 

"At daylight we found our way to the harbor, where the tidal 
wave had thrown the water fourteen feet above the quay and 
broken every vessel adrift. The harbor was full of the wreckage 
of cases and capsized skiffs, and four steamers which had been 
flung on the quay had refloated as the great wave drew back, and 
were hanging on their anchors. They were the Elbro, Drake, 
Varese, and another. 

LATER RETTJENS EOR RESCTTE. 

"We hailed the Drake and were taken aboard and well attended. 
Later the captain of the Drake sent a party with me to rescue my 



In the Jaws of Death. 71' 

relatives living in the north end of Messina. The houses of the 
British consul and chaplain were found to be mere dust heaps. 

''I located what had been my brother's house, and after digging 
an hour with our hands, breaking a way through the fallen masonry, 
beams, rafters and broken furniture, we rescued my brother, his 
wife, child, and eighteen other persons. 

''We found no trace of my father, mother, or aunt. All had 
been crushed under the ruins of three houses." 



CHAPTEE III. 
THE DESTRUCTION OE REGGIO. 

The Destruction of Eeggio in Italy Across tlie Strains from and South of 
Messina — The Earthquake on Both Sides of the Straits and Under Its 
Great Depth— Great Fury of the Waters Caused hy the Convulsions of 
Nature Under Them— The Population and Environs of Keggio. 

If it is possible for the reader to conceive of one part of this 
devastated district suffering more than another then turn to Reggio 
the city ''At the Toe" of Italy, a happy prosperous city of 50,000 
inhabitants completely razed to the ground, its people dead. 

We shudder on reading of a railway or mine disaster in this 
country where fifty or one hundred are killed and wounded ; imagine 
then if yon can forty or fifty thousand lives snuffed out in a few 
seconds. 

Out of a total population of 50,000 not more than 5,000 escaped 
leaving 45,000 dead in the ruins of what was once a great city. 

PARIS WRITER PAINTS VIVID PICTURE OF DEATH AND RUIN. 

The special correspondent of the Paris Matin, who arrived at 
Messina after an adventurous journey on foot through the wasted 
Calabria region, tells a vivid story of the scenes of devastation. 

"I arrived at last at Messina. My nerves will never recover 
from the atrocious impressions to which they were subjected, and 
my eyes will retain, as long as they remain open, the vision of 
death and devastation which oppresses them. A mournful silence 
covers the country like a funeral pall. 

"I proceeded as far as Palmi by train, and thence afoot. Six or 
seven inhabitants accompanied me to Tropead, and I decided to 
reach Eeggio at whatever cost. Two or three railroad firemen, cut 
off from home while at duty, hj the catastrophe, were returning 
to seek news of the fate of their families. They preceded me, 
brandishing resinous smoky torches. We marched in Indian file 

72 




MESSINA HARBOR DURING THE TIDAL WAVE. 

A fierce storm, accompanied the tidal wave, lightning flashed and crashing noises 

filled the air. Big steel anchor chains snapped as if they were 

thread, ships crashed into each other wrecking some and 

sinking others. 




RESCUERS AT WORK IN THE STRICKEN CITY. 

The violence of the earthquake demolished the buildings in an instant, killing or 

burying those inside. This picture shows the completeness of the 

destruction and what little chance there was for escape. 










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The Destruction of Eeggio. 77 

tlirougli tlie tunnel from Palmi to Bagnara, holding hands and 
stumbling over ballast heaps. The roof of the tunnel was cracked 
everywhere, and now and then rocks fell in the niches of the track- 
men. Whole families were encamped around wood fires and smok- 
ing torches. Many of them were wounded. Men, women, and 
children, stupefied by the catastrophe and crouching among the 
stones looked at us with a vacant glare, as if their thoughts were 
wandering. 

''Some distance along we came upon families roasting sea birds, 
which had been killed by the tempest, and cast upon the beach. 
Others had the strangest objects packed in sacks. In reply to ques- 
tions as to what had happened at Messina and Eeggio, they made 
vague and desolate gestures and continued to gaze at us like stalled 
oxen. After two hours' march we saw Bagnara perched on the 
spur of a mountain overhanging the sea. 

''The country house of the mayor, on the summit of the rock, 
was half tumbled into the sea, but the mayor was safe. Every house 
in the town and surrounding country was in ruins. Little iDalaces 
were open like cut pomegranates in sections. In one I saw tumbled 
beds and disordered dining-rooms. Seated on the broken wall was 
a man selling bread at exorbitant prices, amid a chorus of curses 
and maledictions. Another, demented, was trying to dig into the 
ruins with his fingers. How many dead? One thousand — two thous- 
and — ^who knows f 

"The tunnel beyond Bagnara was impracticable. An enormous 
portion of the mountain had fallen and totally obstructed the road. 
We were forced to walk in the sand, often up to our knees in water. 
Beyond the tunnel the track was torn and the rails twisted. Huge 
rocks and dangerous masses came rumbling down momentarily. We 
decided to climb the mountain and advance across the ravines of 
brushwood. 

"Night fell; the rain was coming down in a deluge. My guides 
marched more with their brains than their legs. I followed me- 
chanically, though ready to drop. At 11 o'clock we reached 
Favazzina, a hamlet of 300 inhabitants. Only seven persons re- 
mained. They were shivering under the shelter of a couple of 
sheets stretched across two olive trees. They asked us pitifully for 



78 The Desteuction of Eeggio. 

bread, but we ourselves bad not eaten since the start, and we knew 
not what to answer ; so we left tbem hopeless. 

' ' After eleven hours we had covered only thirty-four kilometers, 
every step at the cost of the greatest exertion. Our clothes were 
soaked and the torches had burned out. At Scylla we decided to 
rest, but rest was impossible. The whole countryside, except to the 
north, was completely blotted out. Walls were standing, but the 
interiors had collapsed, carrying down the sleeping occupants. 

' ' A railroad employe who saw his mother, his grandmother, and 
his three sisters perish before his eyes told me that the victims 
must be between 750 and 1,000. 

TOWN SWEPT BY SEA. 

**A few kilometers further on Cannitello presented a still more 
terrifying sight. Almost at the same moment it was overthrown 
by the earthquake it was swept by the sea. It is no more. 

^'The country is but a charnel-house, whence a horrible stench 
arises. All the houses are heaped into one pile of ruins under 
which the dead and wounded lie. The sea around about was covered 
with household articles and children's playthings. From the ruins 
muffled voices calling for help reached us time and again. I asked 
a fisherman the number of the dead and saved. 'The survivors — 
perhaps 5, 6 or 7. The dead— perhaps 2,000, 3,000, who knows T 
he answered. 

''The once prosperous San Giovanni was another awful sight. 
The tidal wave smashed the jetties and overturned the six moles 
and swept the entire passage. The railroad station, the wireless 
station, six ferry docks, and the hospital are all destroyed. Four 
thousand inhabitants are buried beneath the ruins. 

"The witnesses of that terrible night relate that the sea rose 
up as though lifted by a subterranean explosion. Survivors 
here and there are huddled in wagons which were half buried in 
the sand by violence. They are wounded and naked. Not a soldier 
had arrived; not a morsel of bread remained. Wlien we found 
them they were worn by a struggle over a few provisions they had 
discovered in a freight car, but these were now gone. 



The Destruction of Reggio. 79 

''Fifteen kilometers further we entered the tomb of Reggio. 
Those who saw Reggio a few weeks ago would not he able to re- 
strain their tears. I wept like a child, as I saw outspread before 
me where the town had stood an ocean of ruins. Nothing was 
standing; all were dead; all had been killed. Palaces, churches, 
theaters, and banks no longer exist. 

''The jetty with its two stations had been carried away to sea. 
A car was standing close at hand, against which a girl of 12 had 
been hurled. The girl 's head was cut off and floated out to sea ; the 
body hung on the door jamb of the car. The waters had poured 
down the Via Marina, cutting off retreat and drowning those who 
had not already been killed. The two other main thoroughfares, 
the Corso G'ariba.ldi and the Corso Ascheneuse, were completely 
obstructed by enormous heaps of blazing ruins. I was stunned at 
the completeness of the disaster. 

DEATH ON EVERY HAND. 

"Never in imagination have I felt so strong an impression of 
death ; not a soul living in this smoking charnel-house ; not a human 
voice. It was terrifying silence. Ruins were piled upon ruins. 
Among the debris I saw furniture and women's clothing. A house 
cut in two revealed three stories, a red, very red, parlor bed, in 
which a man lay dead, crushed by a falling beam, a bridal chamber, 
from which the bride seeking to escape, also lay dead on the thres- 
hold; another, a parlor, in which there was nothing but a mirror 
and portraits of King Humbert and Count Cavour. I could bear no 
more. My heart bursting with grief and horror, I asked the eternal 
question : ' The survivors, perhaps 5,000 or 6,000 ; the dead, perhaps 
25,000 or 30,000. Who knows!' 

"I obtained a rowboat and crossed, under a beating rain, with 
death in its soul, the sinister strait, still agitated by the horrible 
crime it had committed. ' ' 

200 BURIED UNDER CATHEDRAL. 

Survivors 'from Reggio state that the scene after the first shock 
was appalling. Their experience in many respects was similar to 



80 The ItesTEUCTioN or Eeggio. 

that of the inhabitants of Messina. People rushed into the streets 
in night attire only to be crushed down under falling buildings. 

Many flocked into the cathedral according to the usual Italian 
custom during an earthquake, and were soon afterward killed as 
they knelt at prayer by the collapse of the cathedral dome. The 
cathedral was completely destroyed and more than 200 worshipers 
were buried in the ruins. 

The handsome museum adjoining the cathedral, with its price- 
less collection of Roman antiquities, was also destroyed. The town 
hall is a partial ruin, the walls still standing. All the buildings 
adjoining the harbor, including the custom house, the barracks and 
many large warehouses, were washed away by the sea. A second 
shock destroyed the railroad station and buried all within it. All 
the railroad lines were torn up for miles, the rails being twisted 
and gnarled fantastically. 

BABIES FOTJND IN BIJINS. 

The personal accounts of the survivors obtained all go to 
confirm the first reports of the extent of the disaster, and they 
but add to the grewsome recital of suffering and pathetic inability 
to help the injured. One feature of the disaster at Eeggio is the 
large number of homeless children. In some cases little babies 
were found creeping about in the ruins, and it seems impossible 
to restore them to their parents even if the parents are alive. A 
sailor who went ashore at Eeggio relates that during the work of 
rescue he was attracted by a sound of infant voices. Looking 
under a fallen beam he found twins about a year old in a basket. 
They were uninjured, and their clothing was of the best. They 
were not claimed. 

One of the most thrilling stories of the destruction of Eeggio 
was brought to Grace Marina by Signer Orso, prefect of Eeggio. 
Signer Orso is the highest official on the island, representing both 
the King and the Government. Early reports stated that he was 
killed, but the prefect turned up at Grace Marina, fifty miles from 
Eeggio, into which he staggered almost exhausted after a long 
tramp consuming thirty-six hours, each of which was filled with 
excitement. 



The Destruction of Reggio. 81 

Orso said lie passed tlirougb a region of ruined villages and 
desolated lands in wiiicli the people seemed mad with fear. All 
through his terrible journey the weather was cold and stormy, and 
when the prefect reached Graco Marina he was half dead with 
hunger and exposure. His clothing hung in rags. 

Orso had supported himself during his long tramp on herbs and 
fruits that he found along the route, and reaching his destination 
he had not even the strength to telegraph the government announc- 
ing the disaster which had overwhelmed the province entnisted to 
his care. 

Another refugee from Reggio says that just before the catas- 
trophe fully 400 persons were in the railway station. Most of them 
had already taken their seats in the train about to leave for Naples, 
the remainder being relatives and friends who were seeing them 
off, and the railway employes. While the people were saying good- 
bye the frightful earthquake shock occurred. Immediately the whole 
station collapsed, burying everybody beneath the ruins. Only two 
persons escaped. 

A woman refugee gave the following account of her experiences 
at Reggio: 

''As soon as I could get out of my house I ran in the direction of 
the water front. I noticed that the greater jDortion of the main 
thoroughfare of the city, the Via Garibaldi, was destroyed. A 
thick dust prevented me from seeing more than three feet in any 
direction. From every side I heard the cries of the wounded and 
the shrieks of the terrified women. I struggled through water and 
mud up to my knees and succeeded in gaining one of the docks. 
From there I was taken on board a cruiser in the harbor. 

"While on my way down to the water, groping through the 
dust and darkness, a band of about 100 persons rushed upon me 
like maniacs. They were fleeing uptown. They separated me from 
my companion, whom I never saw again. ' ' 

ANAECHY EEIGNED IN STEICKEN EEGGIO. 

A few soldiers who escaped unhurt, impelled by an admirable 
spirit of discipline, organized patrols on their own initiative. They 
endeavored to protect the property left intact, but the criminals 
fought against them tooth and nail. 



82 The Besteuction of Reggio. 

The numbers of these criminals increased to sucli an extent that 
the soldiers were on several occasions forced to open fire on them. 

It was only after a pitched battle, in which several were shot 
and killed, that a semblance of order was restored. 

RELIEF PAHTIES HELPLESS; CITY CLOSED. 

All entrances to the city, or what was left of it, were guarded by 
soldiers. Many of the survivors were lying exposed. The relief 
parties were unable to cope with the distress. The cries of the 
injured were piteous. 

The city was divided into several zones, each commanded by 
an officer. Stores and food wero landed and guarded by the mili- 
tary to prevent pillage by the famished populace. 

36 EESCUE VESSELS CAERY OUT REFUGEES. 

Shiploads of fugitives were carried out of the stricken zone to 
Naples, Palermo, Catania and other ports, and, according to the 
Minister of Marine, rescue vessels to the number of thirty-six cen- 
tered in the Strait of Messina, and 5,000 soldiers were landed on 
the two coasts. 

AN AMERICAN NEWSPAPER MAN'S TRIP TO REGGIO AFTER 
THE DISASTER. 

I arrived after an aTduous journey from Palermo'. Through- 
out it was a strenuous struggle to push forward against the stream 
of fleeing survivors. 

I found Palmi a scene of desolation, most of the town destroyed 
and all the houses uninhabitable. Of Palmi 's 11,000 inhabitants 
700 bodies had already been discovered. The constant spectacle 
that made me sad was the swarms of hungry children crying vain- 
ly and seeking their parents. Than this there is nothing more 
pathetic. I scarcely reached the center of Palmi when I turned to 
and helped the soldiers extricate two children from a wrecked 
house. 

My first impression of the results of the catastrophe was the 
extraordinary apathy of the survivors. Literally they were so dazed 



The Besteuction of Beggio. 83 

by the tragedy that they wo'uld not make any attempt to assist the 
rescuers. 

I pushed on from Palmi to Bagnara and directed the organiza- 
tion of the first relief train from Palmi. In Bag-nara 300 dead re- 
mained under the debris. The surviving population was famishing. 
No succor had reached Bagnara. 

CALABRIANS FOUR DAYS WITHOUT FOOD. 

On the third night two sharp earthquake shocks completed the 
wreck caused by the first titanic shock. I started on foot for Eeg- 
gio, fifteen miles away, tramping with the troops. The most dis- 
tressing feature of the disaster was the appalling disorganization 
of the rescue work throughout Calabria. Not a single morsel of 
food had arrived to relieve the famishing, despite the fact that it 
had been four days since the earthquake. 

The spectacle in Bagnara horrified and unnerved me. Pesti- 
lence was inevitable unless sufficient hel2> arrived immediately to 
bury the piles of bodies. 

The survivors in Bagnara attemiDted to seize food, but the 
militia repulsed them. After walking three miles from Bagnara I 
entered the village of Favazina. There the same distressing inci- 
dents, the same shocking spectacle, was duplicated. At Favazina I 
found a boat to take me as far as Scylla. 

After what I've seen I can sincerely exclaim ''Merciful God, 
what horrors ! ' ' 

ONE HUNDRED SURVIVE OF HAMLET'S 3,000 PEOPLE. 

Hundreds of bodies lie in the wreck-strewn roads. It was a pity 
the yawning cracks in the earth didn't swallow them. I reached 
the hamlet of Canetello, where I found a hundred stupefied peas- 
ants, all that is left out of 3,000 inhabitants. All Canetello was 
literally destroyed. 

Reaching the village of San Giovanni, I found English sailors 
from the warship Exmouth, whose captain merits praise for hav- 
ing established the first shore hospital in all the stricken region. 
The Exmouth 's doctor. Burton, was assisted by Engineer Eanier 



84 The Destkxjction of Eeggio. 

in attending the wonnded. Tlie hospital was improvised in rail- 
road cars. Half of San Giovanni's population of 7,000 was killed. 
Here, like Bagnara and Palmi, there was gravest danger of an 
epidemic. 

It seems an absurdity to attempt to describe conditions in Eeg- 
gio. I saw hundreds of people frantically searching for food in 
the hali-rnined stores, risking their lives. 

It is pathetic to see the survivors clustered stupefiedly gazing 
at the ruins of their homes. Always there is the wailing of hungry 
children vainly seeking their parents. Eeggio suffered two 
scourges. Tlie seaquake destroyed the lower portion of the town 
and the earthquake ruined the higher parts. 

The urgent necessities of the moment are: sufficient men to bury 
or bum the dead, immediate succor for the wounded and food for 
the survivors. 




SURVIVORS SEARCHING FOR FRIENDS. 

The old man sitting down lost every member of his family. He is the picture 

of despair and hopelessness. 




WHOLE FAMILIES WERE BURIED UNDER TONS OF DEBRIS. 

A residence photographed the day after the disaster. 



CHAPTER rv. 
A CHAIN OF HORRORS. 

The Destruction of the Other Towns Adjacent to Messina and Eeggio — AH of 
These Towns Located Between the Volcanoes Mount Vesuvius and Mount 
Etna, More Than One Hundred and Fifty Miles Apart. 

Though Messina and Eeggio suffered untold disaster by the 
violence of the terrestrial convulsions on that fateful morning, many 
other towns and villages in the district were also leveled and wiped 
out by the same shock. Those situated on the shores of the Straits 
of Messina received the most damage, the tidal wave adding to 
their burden of disaster. 

Some stories by survivors show the overwhelming results of the 
catastrophe. One survivor said : 

' ' The suddenness and completeness of the catastrophe was over- 
whelming. Of the 14,000 people living in Palmi only a few score 
were alive. 2,200 bodies were buried in the cemetery there in 
one day." 

HOUSE WHIRLED LIKE WINDMILL. 

The marquis Vincenzo Genoese, a refugee from Palmi, near 
Eeggio, in telling of his experience at the time of the earthquake 
said that he was awakened by a tremendous roar and a severe shock. 
It seemed as though the house was whirling round, like the wings 
of a windmill. The wall of his dwelling cracked and through it 
came a cloud of suffocating dust. Stunned, but uninjured, the 
marquis tried to escape to the streets, but at first he found this 
impossible, as the stairs had collapsed with the first shock. Finally, 
after numerous efforts, he succeeded in getting out of a window 
and descending to the ground from the third story by means of a 
rope. 

DRAGGED OUT EIGHTY-SIX DEAD. 

Walking, he says was difficult, owing to the fact that the streets 
were filled with debris. He helped in the work of rescue and in a 

87 



88 .A Chain of Hobeoes. 

short time had assisted in dragging from beneath the ruins in the 
street eighty-six persons, all of them dead. The face of every one 
of them, he says, showed the agony they suffered in death. Many 
of them had their arms across their faces, as though to protect them- 
selves from the falling debris. 

It was necessary to release the prisoners at Palmi and many of 
them escaped. 

HUNDEEDS WERE BURIED AT ONE TIME. 

A naval officer on a tour of investigation gave the following 
graphic description of what he saw : 

' ' I reached this town from the railway by walking alongside the 
broken tracks for half an hour. Not one house in Palmi is safe and 
the streets are full of ruins. The town, once the delight of artists, 
because of its beautiful sea view, was completely destroyed. 

"The wretched inhabitants gathered around us as soon as I 
appeared, begging for help. They were hungry and thirsty but 
there was no bread nor meat and no shelter. 

''A cart laden with bread for soldiers engaged in rescue work 
was pillaged by the hungry crowd, but with admirable self-denial 
the soldiers good-naturedly let them take everything. The tele- 
graph office from which I am dispatching this message is a strange 
one. The former building was wrecked, so the few operators in- 
stalled their instruments in a hut made from the branches of trees. ' ' 

1,500 DEAD IN ONE SMALL TOWN. 

It is officially stated that the deaths at Sant Eufemia, Calabria, 
from the earthquake, totaled 1,500. The injured exceeded that 
number. The ruins were consumed by flames. 

SEMINARA, CALABRIA. 

The mayor of Seminara, in the province of Calabria, states that 
his town was practically destroyed. Seminara had 4,000 inhabi- 
tants. The rescuers unearthed 100 bodies in a single day. 

Eeports from Pizzo, thirty miles west of here, declare that the 



A Chain of Hoeeors. 89 

death list in surrounding villages reaches a total of 3,325. Many 
wounded persons are still under the wreckage. 

LIPARI ISLANDS NOT DESTROYED. 

The Lipari islands, which were reported to have disappeared 
with their population of 28,000, suffered little or no damage from 
the earthquake. 

SCILIA. 

''A tidal wave engulfed Scilla," said a priest, ''and we were 
swept out to sea. AVe escaped death by clinging to bits of wreckage, 
and were finally picked up by a small boat and taken to Messina. 
The last we saw of what had been the site of Scilla was the angry 
water still rolling over it. I don't think any others escaped. I 
don't think there was a coast town in Calabria that was not practi- 
cally destroyed." 

SAN GIOVANNI, CALABRIA. 

The town of San Giovanni, close to Reggio, was swept by a 
tidal wave which penetrated 700 yards inland. 

TONTELEONE, CALABRIA. 

Tonteleone, in Calabria lost 1,800 dead, and many more injured. 

GAZZIRI, SICILY. 

Gazziri, Sicily, it is stated, lost thousands. 

BAGNARA, CALABRIA. 

Bagnara, in Calabria, with a population of 5,000, was practically 
annihilated, with one-fifth of the inhabitants reported dead. 

The following towns were also destroyed : Seminara, Castellate, 
Polistena, Cinque Prondi, Mamertina, Simpoli, San Procopio, 
Pizziconi, Stefanoconi, Catona and Eosalo. 

RICH FARM LAND IS NOW A WILDERNESS. 

The enormous stretches of the richest farm country were trans- 
formed into a wilderness. Great fissures seam the land, water 



90 A Chain of Horkoes. 

courses were changed, overflowing farms and making swamps of 
what were formerly the garden spots of Calabria and Sicily. In 
other places springs and streams dried np. 

Valleys were filled up by giant landslides and the whole topog- 
raphy twisted and torn by the quake's titanic and ruthless hand. 

The net loss in a commercial and agricultural way worked a 
permanent and severe loss to Italy's material prestige. 

The number of lives lost in the earthquake horror will prob- 
ably never be known for the reason that thousands upon thousands 
were buried in the ruins which took fire and burned, obliterating 
every means of knowing how many were in the houses at the time. 
Some members of families may have been away from home, while 
others may have had visitors; this coupled with the fact that no 
census had been taken for many years adds to the confusion and 
makes an accurate estimate of the number killed absolutely im- 
possible. It is generally conceded, however, that the number 
killed was between 200,000 and 250,000. 



CHAPTER V. 
MESSINA— A GIANT TOMB. 

A City of the Dead — A Vivid Picture of a Once Prosperous City, now a Necropo- 
lis of Its Inhabitants — Buried Under Mountains of Powdered Brick and 
Stone, Lime and Mortar — An Eye-witness Paints a Pen-Picture of Terri- 
ble Destruction. 

Bulwer Lytton, afterwards Lord Bulwer, the celebrated Englisli 
writer, many years ago wrote a book entitled ''The Last Days of 
Pompeii. ' ' This masterpiece of the English language tells a mag- 
nificent tale of the sufferers at Pompeii when that town was over- 
whelmed by lava from Vesuvius. This book lives today and every 
day new generations are reading this wonderful stoiy which tells 
of the loss of 20,000 lives and the destruction of a city. 

Mr. H. K. Chamberlain of New York, a well-known American 
correspondent and writer visited Messina a few day after the 
earthquake and his facile pen has given us a story of death and 
suffering, ruin and devastation, that will live forever and is worthy 
of a place in literature along with Lord Bulwer 's work. 

Mr. Chamberlain's story is as follows: 

"A tiny fraction of the earth's surface readjusted itself to the 
changing forces of nature the other day, and a few score thousands 
of the insignificant creatures who built their habitations thereon 
were buried beneath the ruins of their frail dwellings. 

' ' That is one point of view of the incident which has drawn the 
attention of the human race to the spot which is blessed and cursed 
with the most lavish beauty of scenery and climate that is vouch- 
safed to man. 

"The more human aspect of the event which obtrudes itself 
upon all the senses — even the reeking atmosphere of death as I 
write— is that we are in the presence of the most dramatic, the 
most stupendous tragedy in the history of mankind. 

''It is easy to register the loss of 160,000 to 250,000 lives blotted 

91 



92 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

out in the space of a half minute, and to record the fact that nine- 
tenths of the buildings over an area of about 7,500 square miles 
have been destroyed ; but neither pen nor camera can give a faintly 
adequate impression even of the residue of utter desolation which 
nature left. 

CRTJSHING FUTILITY OF DESCRIPTION. 

' ' I have had experience with grave disasters and in the depicting 
of so-called important events, and I arrived here four days ago with 
the expectation that with the aid of a well equipped photographer 
I might be able to give a fairly comprehensive idea of the effects 
of the great earthquake. I had not been half a day in Messina be- 
fore I abandoned that ambition. 

"Every hour has added to the crushing futility of the effort. I 
shall set down, therefore, merely some scattered notes, hastily 
gathered in the center of the vast necropolis, and leave to the camera 
the principal record. 

''It is true that half the population within a radius of about 
eighteen miles from San Giovanni, which roughly is the center of 
the devasted region, perished. 

GREAT CHANGES UNDER THE SEA. 

'^In the area thus included about half is land and half water. 
The greatest structural changes of the earth undoubtedly occurred 
beneath the strait of Messina. 

' ' The dead in Messina and Reggio, the two towns worst aflQicted, 
number considerably more than half the original inhabitants. The 
mayor of Messina estimated that city's victims at 108,000. The 
figures for Eeggio are approximately 28,000. 

"There remain heavy death rolls at Palmi, San Giovanni, 
Scylla, Gallina, Bagnara, Galati, Pellaro, not to mention scores of 
smaller villages. The exact total never will be known, but there is 
little hope that it will fall below 200,000, and a quarter of a million 
probably will be nearer the truth. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 93 

HOUSES HUDDLED CLOSE TOGETHER. 

''It is an ineradicable custom of the Italian race to build its 
habitations, even in the smallest villages, crowded and huddled 
together, as if space was so valuable that light and air must be 
sacrificed to it. Their so-called streets are narrow lanes, giving 
passage to single vehicles only, without provision for pedestrians. 

' ' This was not true of Messina, yet even here the streets aver- 
aged less than forty feet in width ; the buildings, including private 
dwellings, were in solid blocks with never any space between. 
Squares and open spaces were rare. Such construction in an earth- 
quake country is nothing less than a death trap. To this more than 
to the violence of the earthquake convulsions are due the phenome- 
nal proportions of the casualties. 

' ' San Francisco thought she suffered from an earthquake of the 
first magnitude. It was child's play compared to this cataclysm. 
Messina was shaken, as a terrier shakes a rat, until she dropped 
bleeding and lifeless into her own dust. 

NO TWO ACCOUNTS AGREE. 

* ' I have asked many to describe what actually happened in that 
fateful half minute. No two impressions agree. 

' ' One man said it was like being rolled inside a hogshead down 
a steep, bumpy hill. Some say it was incredibly violent, a swift 
yanking from side to side, followed by equally rapid upheavals and 
depressions. Others reverse the process. 

"Some speak of the nauseating effect of that up and down 
motion, but the peril and the struggle to escape were too compelling 
to give way to mere dizziness. 

"It is not improbable that fully half the dead succeeded in 
reaching the street before death overtook them. If they had gone 
to the tops of their houses instead of to the ground they would have 
stood a better chance. 

MESSINA'S STREETS TO BE GRAVES. 

"There are miles and miles of residential streets here piled full 
from end to end with a conglomerate mass of stone, brick, mortar, 



94 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

dust, and general debris as high as the level of second story win- 
dows. Those who followed their natural instincts and rushed out- 
side were literally stoned to death. Their bodies lie on the pave- 
ment, beneath ruins of their homes, these to be their final burial 
places. 

^'Ic is hardly worth while to give more versions of that bitter 
hour. I will refer to but one, the most intelligent that I have heard 
given. Dr. Francesco Dentice, chief of the cabinet of the prefect or 
governor of the province, was one of the fortunate ones. He lived 
in the aristocratic quarter of the town some distance back from 
the sea. His house did not fall and he and his family survived un- 
hurt. 

FULL VIOLENCE ON IN A SECOND. 

' ' He happened to be awake when the first tremor came, but there 
really was scarcely a second's warning before the full violence of 
the convulsion was upon them. A great terrifying roar or series of 
subterranean thunder claps made more hideous the jumping, danc- 
ing, battering and flinging about which everything movable re- 
ceived. 

'^He was flung from bed before he could get on his feet volun- 
tarily. He called the others and all managed to get downstairs, while 
the shaking continued with ever increasing violence. They were de- 
layed slightly in leaving by an injury to an aged aunt, whom they 
were obliged to half drag, half carry with them. 

'^The last and worst paroxysm was finishing as they reached 
the street, and to this delay probably they owed their lives, for they 
escaped the danger from falling masonry. 

' ' The house was almost on the corner of a small square and to 
that they hastened. 

LAST BREATH OF A DYING CITY. 

''There they stood in utter darkness for two hours, listening to 
the death throes of the dying city. There were occasional gleams 
of flame from several directions, but the torrents of rain which fell 
quenched these. 




VESUVIUS DURING THE LAST ERUPTION. 

Daring Americans scaling this mountain of destruction and death, overlooking 

Naples, right into the jaws of its crater. American women are the 

most daring tourists of the world. 




REFUGEES SEEKING SAFER QUARTERS. 
The man at the right wearing cap, is an army medical officer. 







iig!v^Sg^>^Atey^"- 



TAORMINA. 

One of the very few towns in the vicinity not destroyed or damaged. Taormina is 

on coast between Messina and historic Syracuse. The foot of Mount 

Etna is very near Taormina which is a popular 

resort for Americans. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 99 

''They were joined from time to time by struggling fugitives 
from houses bordering the square until they numbered twenty. 

**I asked Dr. Dentice and many others what was the etfect on 
them of the black terrors of those two hours of suspense before the 
dawn. Did they lament ; did they cheer each other with sympathy ; 
did they abandon themselves to despair I 

' ' All who were able to give an intelligent account of that dread- 
ful time of waiting said the same thing. 

STAND DAZED AND UNCOMPREHENDING. 

'' 'We did nothing; we stood silent in the rain, dull, dazed, half 
stupefied. I do not remember feeling any keen emotion, not even 
of fear. I think we all passed into a condition of submissive in- 
difference. 

'' 'With the slow coming of daylight our faculties awakened. The 
gloom revealed little until actual sunrise; then we strove to make 
our way to the lower part of the town and to the sea front. We 
found, to our astonishment, that we were prisoners. Every street 
leading from the square was piled twenty feet high with impassable 
ruins. 

' ' ' We imagined that we alone were victims of this isolation and 
we looked for the speedy coming of soldiers and relief parties. We 
had no suspicion of the truth until two hours later, when I saw a 
priest a little distance down one street. I shouted to him to know 
what was the situation elsewhere. 

FINDS WORDS OF PRIEST TRUE. 

" ' "Messina is no more," came back the answer. Even then I 
failed to comprehend the extent of the disaster, but I began to strug- 
gle over the debris toward the shore. I reached it after about an 
hour ; then I realized the priest had not exaggerated. ' 

"The cable has told you something of the horrors of those first 
hours. I prefer to write only what I have seen and heard of the 
tragedy — for the drama is by no means finished and some of its 
present aspects are far more dreadful as a comprehensive spectacle 



100 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

than tlie multitudinous and paralyzing experiences of the thirty-two 
seconds during which nature accomplished all her purpose. 

' ' When I arrived in Naples the city was in mourning. Half the 
population seemed to he in the street watching with evident grief 
and sympathy the stretcher laden automobiles which dashed back 
and forth bearing the injured from the water to the various hos- 
pitals, permanent and temporary. I boarded a battleship which con- 
veyed me to Sicily. 

STROMBOLI STILL BELCHES FIRE. 

''Stromboli, the most sensitive of the three volcanoes, which 
form a triangle around the tenderest spot known to exist on the 
earth's surface, was belching smoke, stones, and lava when we 
passed the next morning. 

''Etna, beyond, was lazily puf&ng steam from its black lips. 

''Another twenty miles brought us to the entrance of the straits 
of Messina. The whirlpools of Charybdis were scarcely visible. 
The tall lighthouse stood firm, apparently, on the point of the 
cape on the Sicilian side. 

' ' Scylla, also picturesque in the dazzling limelight, lay calm and 
placid where it has lived a peaceful existence since time immemo- 
rial. We approached within a mile of the shore and I could still 
see nothing wrong. 

SEES PARODY OF ARCHITECTURE. 

' ' I was standing on the bridge of the warship, and the executive 
officer beside me had been gazing long at the shore through a tele- 
scope. Presently he handed me the glass with a silent gesture of 
despair. I looked and understood. 

' ' What appeared to be dwellings and warehouses were a parody 
on architecture, which at a distance served to draw attention to 
the heaps of ruins over which they stood guard. 

"We passed into the strait, and San Giovanni was the next of 
the large towns to come in sight. It, too, presented the same il- 
lusion on a distant view, only to disclose the dreadful reality as 
we drew nearer. -. - 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 101 

"Eeggio, beyond, soon revealed its dead nakedness through the 
glass, but we turned into the beautiful harbor of Messina, which 
was just at hand. 

SHIPS OF MANY NATIONS THERE. 

''Many ships, flying the flags of half a dozen nations, hid at 
first one of the most delightfully located cities in all the world. 
Again the aspect from the ship was that of a prosperous center of 
commerce and industry. 

''Even when we had a clear view of the town itself, we looked 
in astonishment on what seemed to be the magnificent white facade 
of fine warhouses and business blocks, which line the quay in a 
great curve a mile and a half in length. To be sure, there were 
gashes and gaps here and there, but the general effect remained. 

"Behind we surely saw the closely built buildings of an im- 
portant city. Smoke that certainly did not come from factories or 
dwellings arose in ominous columns in the still air at more than a 
dozen points. 

' ' That we were gazing at a dead city, at a necropolis fashioned 
and peopled with corpses by nature in scarcely more than the 
twinkling of an eye was almost beyond belief. 

WALKS IN WORLD'S CHARNEL HOUSE. 

"We went ashore, landing on the half sunken stone qway de- 
pressed several feet below its level of a week before. As soon as 
the formalities of martial law had been complied with I plunged 
behind that curtain of stone — in another moment I stood in the 
world's charnel house. 

' ' I shall not attempt to describe what I saw. I thought I would 
get a general idea of the extent of the hopeless expanse of ruin. 
Lines of streets were easily identified. I began to make my way. 
It would be rough work even for a mountain climber. 

"One clambered, now up, now down, sometimes coming to the 
street level, but more often two stories above it. The foothold al- 
ways was precarious — now on a bit of furniture, a brick, a corner 



102 Messina— A Giant Tomb. 

of granite, a prayer book, once on tlie keyboard of a piano whicb 
clanged discordantly but more often in the universal white powder 
of ground up plaster. 

DIFFERENT FKOM FIEE RUINS. 

''The ruins of an earthquake are entirely different from the 
ruins of a fire. Walls and twisted iron occupy little space com- 
pared with the whole material of construction combined with the 
contents of the destroyed buildings. 

' ' Messina, like most Sicilian and southern Italian towns, vf as of 
tremendously solid construction. There usually was a facing of 
brick or stone and behind this a wall of rubble — a mixture of mor- 
tar and small stones — of enormous thiclmess. Three feet of this 
material was nothing unusual. 

*'The forces which nature brought to bear upon this construc- 
tion show in the result that the buildings might well have been 
made of sand in the sam.e quantities and held together between sur- 
faces of cardboard. This explains why the ruins of Messina make 
such an enormous mass. The buildings averaged four or five stories 
in height and the scrap heaps that remain are at least two stories 
above the street level, including the material in the roadway itself. 

''Another peculiarity struck me at once. An earthquake has 
usually some general direction — north and south, east and west, or 
between these points. Not so this convulsion. Debris fell in all 
directions, invariably into the street unless the front walls failed 
to give way in whatever direction the buildings faced. 

"It was a vertical motion; apparently that is the most destruc- 
tive. A horizontal shaking loosened everything, then a \dolent 
tossing throughout sent the whole construction to the ground. Sev- 
eral survivors have told me that they were bounced from their beds 
three feet into the air several times before thy could get to their 
feet. 

"It will be readily understood that progress on my tour of in- 
spection through this mass of debris was extremely slow. A quar- 
ter of a mile an hour was all that could be accomplished^ There 
were miles upon miles of such scenes. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 103 

NOT A TENTH OF RUINS SEEN. 

''For liour after hour I have clambered ahout until utterly ex- 
hausted, but have not seen a tenth part of the ruins of Messina. 
Everywhere rescue parties, soldiers, sailors, and firemen are still 
at work. 

"The incessant cry: 'Is any one there?' 'Is any one there?' 
will ring in my ears many days. 

"I saw several dragged back from death covered with that ever- 
lasting mantle of white dust which made them look like living, mov- 
ing plaster figures. Hundreds must have been literally smothered 
in it. 

"Some were almost naked and for them the blanket dust has 
warded off additional suffering of cold, for the nights were frosty. 

RUINS OF $10,000,000 CHURCH. 

"In the early part of my first exploration I reached the ruins 
of what had been the finest cathedral south of St. Peter's itself. It 
stood facing a little parklike inclosure where were an elaborate 
fountain, palm trees, kiosks, and resting places. 

"The church had been in the form of a Latin cross 305 feet in 
length and across the transepts 145 feet in width. It had passed 
through various vicissitudes since its construction was commenced 
810 years ago. 

' ' It was damaged by fire in 1254, and it suffered seriously in the 
earthquake of 1783. Much of it had been rebuilt from time to time. 

"Much wealth has been lavished upon it at various periods in 
its history. No less a sum than $760,000 was spent upon the high 
altar alone in 1628, and Messina estimated that the noble structure 
with its contents of priceless relics of art and antiquity represented 
the enormous value of $10,000,000. 

"The roof had been supported by twenty- two granite columns, 
which are said to have once belonged to a temple of Neptune near 
Faro in Eoman days. 



104 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 



ROYAL DEAD BURIED IN CRYPT. 

''All these are prostrate and in pieces. Many royal bones were 
in the vaults, including those of Alphonso the Generous, who was 
buried there in 1458, and Queen Antonia, widow of Frederick III. 
of Aragon. 

''The treasury was rich in goldsmith's work of the fifteenth 
century and in jewels, and probably these will eventually be recov- 
ered. 

' ' The interior aspect of this great basilica, like all else in Mes- 
sina, was of utter destruction. In one corner I came across the 
discarded garments of several convicts showing that some escaped 
prisoners from the penitentiary used this shelter to change their 
betraying uniforms for civilian clothes during their brief career of 
pillage. 

SOLDIERS BURIED IN BARRACKS. 

' ' The largest buildings in Messina and some of the finest were 
the various barracks occupied by troops, for this was an important 
military headquarters. They are all in ruins. I forget how many 
thousand soldiers still lie buried beneath their debris, but the pro- 
portion of those who escaped is less than 25 per cent. 

"The priests of the city, and there were many, suffered even 
more. A prominent ecclesiastic assured me that nine-tenths of 
them are dead. 

"The doom of the church buildings is absolutely complete. I 
am told not a single sacred edifice remains standing in all the af- 
flicted area. Five hundred in a single diocese are prostrate and the 
total number destroyed is nearly 1,000. 

VIEW OF RUINS BY MOONLIGHT. 

"I went last night for a brief view of the ruins by moonlight. 
The full Sicilian moon is brighter than all other moons — or per- 
haps its effulgence was enhanced by that vast expanse of calcine 
powdered chaos. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 105 

*'I have looked upon other dead cities — cities that had been 
swept away by fire. One or two such sights have seemed to express 
the last word of destruction. 

'' Desolation in black is appalling; desolation in white pierces 
the soul. 

' ' I sat upon a block of granite about twenty-five feet above the 
original level of the street. The city lay silent about me, its jagged 
lines softened little by that wonderful light. In front rose the 
mighty head of Mount Etna, black in the moonlight save for a tuft 
of white rising slowly from the crater. And the rest of the scene ? 

' ' The camera cannot depict it, nor can any poor words of mine. 
Memory alone will preserve the impressions of that hour. 

''I realized as I had not before that the cold finger of annihila- 
tion had touched this fair city, and that Messina must be marked 
off the map of the world. 

SILVER LIGHT GROWS STRONGER. 

''The silence became oppressive and the ghostly silver light 
seemed to grow stronger. The only movement was the slow waving 
of a knotted sheet tied to an iron balcony on a half destroyed wall 
a few yards away. 

' ' Some poor creatures had slid down this improvised means of 
escape and had almost certainl}^ been overwhelmed by an avalanche 
of falling walls, for there could not have been time in that half 
minute for them to reach an open space. 

"But one did not think of the fate of individuals. It was diffi- 
cult to chain the imagination to the still existing world of the twen- 
tieth century. It was easier to believe a sudden transmigration of 
the soul had flashed one 's spirit to a dead and desolate planet. 

''The frowning volcanoes alone seemed real and living. The 
desolation and loneliness grew almost tangible. 

FACE OF A FAIR YOUNG GIRL. 

"The weirdness was becoming unbearable when I happened to 
glance down at my feet and the spell was broken. There lay among 
the rubble the photograph of a young girl. 



106 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

' ' Her smiling face, ricli with the dark beauty of her race, looked 
up at me. Probably her crushed and mangled body was not far 
beneath my feet. I could stay no longer. 

"The saddest incident of this whole catastrophe happened the 
day following the great quake. A party of Eussian sailors found 
in the center of the town the rear wall of a four story house still 
standing precariously. A foot or two of the third and fourth floors 
remained, and upon these narrow ledges were clinging two women 
and three children crying for help. There were no ladders and 
rescue seemed impossible. 

SAILORS MAKE HEEOIC RESCUE. 

''Brave blue jackets did the heroic thing. One stood on an- 
other's shoulders against the outside of the wall while a third, car- 
rying a pick, climbed over them and, using his implement as an ice 
pick, drove it into the mortar high above his head. By this means 
he pulled himself up to the windowsill, released his pick, and used 
it again in the same way to gain nearer the window above, and 
finally reached the terror stricken refugees high in the air. 

' ' He lowered them with a rope to his comrades below, then slid 
down himself. The little party assembled in the narrow courtyard 
prepared to depart and one of the sailors was wrapping his jacket 
around one of the almost naked children. At that moment the tot- 
tering wall fell upon them and killed every one, the brave sailors 
as well. 

SEARCH FOR LIVIHG- m RUINS. 

''I stopped for half an hour to watch the dramatic climax of a 
rescue operation which had been going on for forty-eight hours. It 
was in ruins piled forty feet high adjoining the principal theater 
in Garibaldi street. 

"One morning a faint response was heard deep down in the 
debris to the constant cry of the rescue parties: 'Is any one there?' 
The original building had been a solid one — six stories of stone 
and mortar. Its destiiiction had been as complete as if a rock the 
size of the house had dropped upon it from the sky and then rolled 






HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF ITALY AND TWO OF HER CHILDREN. 

The Queen accompanied the King to the stricken district and the noble work she 

did in caring for the wounded endeared her not only to her own 

subjects but won the applause of the entire world. 




CAPBI PEASANTS AT THE TOWN WELL. 
"Notice the girl balancing the earthen water vessel on her head while she is filling 

another. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 109 

away. It seemed impossible that anything could remain alive be- 
neath that apparently solid mass of pulverized walls, blocks of 
granite, and a few splinters of wood. 

WORK ON THROUGH NIGHT. 

"But a cry of a human being was heard and fifty men set to 
work. They dug valiantly for hours above where the voice came. 
They seemed to get no nearer and night came. Searchlights were 
brought and the work went on. 

"Xext morning the location of the sufferer was fixed more 
definitely. They could talk with him, and he told them he was not 
much hurt, there were a few inches of space about his head, and* 
his hands were free. He pleaded not so much for release as for 
drink and food. 

' ' The dust was suffocating and he feared he would choke if they 
came closer. The soldiers forced a pipe down through the debris 
and the imprisoned man succeeded in reaching the end of it. Beef 
tea and brandy were poured down in succession. 

"The gi'atitude that came in response was as heartfelt as if the 
poor fellow was already in the free light and air instead of crushed 
down beneath twenty feet of ruins. 

THIRTY HOURS MORE REQUIRED. 

"That additional twenty feet amid material impossible to exca- 
vate by ordinary methods required another thirty hours to con- 
quer. The imi>alpable powder which filled every crevice and more 
solid material slipped back almost as fast as it was taken out. Be- 
sides, it was necessary to proceed with the utmost caution for the 
victim's sake. 

"It was just as the rescuers came in sight of the poor fellow 
that I happened to climb over that section of the debris. A few 
moments apparently would effect his release. A stretcher was 
hastily brought to the entrance of the little tunnel which had been 
driven through the side of the excavation. 

"And then, when safety was in sight, the treacherous sides of 
the great hole began to slip, and in a few seconds the man was 
buried anew. 



110 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

"There was a cry of horror on all sides. A dozen soldiers 
buried their faces in their hands and wept. 

MEN OFFEE TO RISK LIVES. 

* ' The downpour of powdered lime and stones stopped for a mo- 
ment. Suddenly the officer in charge cried: 'Who will go in with 
this rope and fasten it beneath his arms underneath the dirt? It 
may mean death, for if the dust comes down again it will mean 
suffocation for whoever goes.' 

" 'Let me go ! Let me go ! I don't mind what happens to me !' 
were cries from almost every man in the detachment. 

"A noose was quickly made in a stout rope and a little young 
private went quickly into the bottom of that suffocating funnel. He 
dug away with his hands, around the head of the victim. He found, 
fortunately, that a small arch had jorotected him from the worst 
of the last dust slide. 

" In a few moments the rope was fixed and a dozen men dragged 
the poor creature into freedom. He shrieked with pain under the 
rough treatment which the emergency made necessary, but a wait- 
ing doctor in a hasty examination could find no serious injury. 

STEANGEST HUMAN BEING EVEE SEEN. 

"The strangest human spectacle I have ever seen was this play- 
thing of the earthquake. There were just two spots of color upon 
him, and those were his eyes. There was a look in them such as 
I have seen but once before ; that was in the eyes of three or four 
miners who had been buried for twenty-four days in a Pennsyl- 
vania coal mine nearly twenty years ago. 

"The time of terror and even despair had passed for him. A 
stupefied indifference, more pathetic than suffering, was the only 
emotion they showed as he turned his gaze slowly upon the eager 
faces about him. Even his eight days' beard was white as paper 
after they hastily tried to brush that awful dust from his face. 

"They did not stop to minister further to him, but struggled 
with many a painful jolt down the crumbling sides of the hill 
which had so nearly been his tomb, and hurried him away to the 
nearest Eed Cross hospital. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. Ill 



LOSES FEET TO GAIN FREEDOM. 

''One poor woman whom the rescuers reached on Friday was 
found with her feet pinned beneath an enormous mass of masonry. 
To release her with any appliances available in Messina would have 
required many days. She herself suggested that her legs be 
amputated. It was done, and she will live. 

"The most ghastly sight still remaining is in the principal 
business street — Garibaldi. The side wall of a high building still 
stands over the edge of a bit of flooring. On the fifth stoiy there 
dangles the leg of a dead woman. High in the air, in full view of 
all who pass, it hangs, but to reach it is impossible. The next 
sharp shock of an earthquake probably will throw down the wall. 

' * I do not like to dwell upon the grewsome features of this dis- 
aster. One gets used to the constant passing of cori^ses borne upon 
stretchers; the long rows of dead in trenches cease to arouse much 
emotion. 

STEPS ON DEAD HAND. 

**I shall not soon forget, however, an experience of three days 
ago. I was stumbling along over the ruins piled two stories high 
in what had been the middle of a street in the center of town. My 
foot slipped and landed upon something soft. I looked down and 
saw that I had inadvertently stepped upon a dead man's hand. 

"A party of rescuers heard a faint raucous cry of 'Maria, 
Maria ! ' coming from way down in the great pile of rubble. They 
thought it the voice of a sufferer in delirium, and they began to 
dig. They worked for two hours, and finally reached a bird cage 
containing what had once been a bright plumaged bird, now be- 
draggled and dust covered, but still voluble and lively. The dig- 
gers were so exasperated they yanked out the cage, and one of 
them suggested they wring the wol-thless creature's neck. 

''But the removal of the cage uncovered a human hand. The 
hand moved. They fell to work in greater earnestness, and 
presently they dragged from the dirt two living women. The 
doctors at the hospital said both would recover. 



112 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

''A weekly newspaper, the Telephone of Messina, published the 
day before Christmas some sarcastic and sacrilegions verses in 
protest against the local communal fees, which were heaivy. The 
last few lines were in the form of the prayer to the infant Christ 
on Christmas Day in this sense: 'O, little child, true man, true 
God, for the love of thy cross let us hear thy voice. Thou that know- 
est, to whom nothing is unlmown, send us an earthquake as a sign. ' 

EEGGIO TORN TO ATOMS. 

' ' Scarcely half the story has been told when the fate of Messina 
is recorded. The actual earthquake was more violent on the op- 
posite side of the strait, in beautiful Calabria. The damage was 
less in the loss of life and material ruin only because there was 
less to destroy. 

"Eeggio, the capital of the province, which comprises the toe 
and instep of the Italian peninsula, was a thriving city of about 
50,000 persons. It was l^ss pretentious than its neighbors nine 
miles across the water, and its buildings were more modest in 
size. A considerable number of two story structures in Messina 
escaped serious damage, but not so in Eeggio. Nature, in a rage, 
flung about the ill fated town until scarcely one stone remained 
upon another. 

"A great change has taken place in the foundations of the 
coast line and of the sea in front. Some soundings taken by a 
British warship opposite Eeggio show where the charts indicate a 
depth of more than 1,500 feet, there now is shallow water. 

DEAB ESTIMATED AT 28,000. 

''The latest and best estimate I could get of the victims who 
lie entombed in the gray rubbish heap which ten days ago was a 
bustling little city places their number at 28,000. Their burial is 
less complete than at Messina, where the masses of ruins are high- 
er, owing to the greater size of the buildings, and the atmosphere 
of death had become thick with threats of a coming pestilence. 

"The grewsome problem of the dead has become a nightmare. 
For the first three days no attention was paid to it, and rightly. 



Messina — A Giant Tomb. 113 

Hundreds of coriDses lay scattered about in full view among the 
ruins. Tliere were many lives still to save. Moans and cries for 
help arose on every hand from the imprisoning debris. Every 
energy of the few thousand rescuers then at hand was devoted to 
their succor. 

' '■ My ears are weary with accounts of the prodigies of the work, 
the marvelous escapes, the pitiful failures to save when success 
seemed possible, and fresh tragedies from hour to hour. All these 
deserve to be remembered, and they would be in the stoiy of any 
disaster usually ranked of the first magnitude. They are swallowed 
up today in the general flood of horrors. 

NUMBER OF DEAD UNCOUNTED. 

*' Later there was a sufficient force at hand to begin the work of 
removing from sight the surface results of death's harvest. No 
records were kept, even of the number of bodies dealt with. They 
were taken hastily to the shore, loaded swiftly upon ships, carried 
out to sea, and committed to the waves. Thousands were thus dis- 
posed of. 

* '■ Now there is an army of workers, and the work of saving the 
living is almost finished. A few hundred soldiers have been as- 
signed to the task of digging graves — not ordinary graves, but 
great trenches, each to accommodate 200 or more of dead. 

"I wandered into a small garden inclosed by high walls 
through the gate of which passed a constant procession of stretch- 
er bearers. The burden upon each was a half concealed human 
figure. The inclosure adjoined the ruins of the great barracks be- 
neath whose debris the bodies of 250 soldiers still were entombed. 

"SALMI— 130" THEIR EPITAPH. 

''The garden has been the recreation ground of the soldiers. 
Four trenches had been made or were still being dug. One already 
had been piled into a mound. An officer was painting upon a 
rough wooden cross the inscription 'Salmi — 130.' This he pres- 
ently stuck into the ground at the head of the finished grave. 

"At the bottom of the second trench, fifty feet long, eight feet 



114 Messina — A Giant Tomb. 

wide, and ten feet deep, there lay already a closely packed row of 
bodies, upon eacli of which has been thrown a shovelful of quick- 
lime. Another layer of corpses, just arriving, was being placed 
above them. 

^'Off in the comer of the inclosure a great fire was burning, fed 
with the clothing and other effects of the dead, thrown there be- 
fore the bodies of their owners were committed to the earth. 

'^The ruins of Messina are still peopled by more than 50,000 
dead and must be left to the purifying influences of the same force 
we call nature, which wrought all this destruction. Man should 
not attempt to cleanse so vast a charnel house. 

'^Wlien I say that no man has been able to traverse even a third 
of the clogged and barricaded streets in nine days some idea may 
be formed of the nature of the catastrophe. 

''So Messina died and was buried. I cannot say more. Leave 
her to her fate. Let her dead bury the dead. 

"Her name must stand hereafter in the vocabulary of all 
tongues as a synonym of the transcendent horror of human suffer- 
ing. I have given but fragmentary, inadequate translation of the 
greatest human documents written by God or the devil, with a 
single stroke of his pen. But let it stand." 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE BROTHERHOOD OF NATIONS. 

Deeds of Daring, Valor and Heroism — Soldiers and Sailors of All Nations 
Work Side by Side in the Buins, Rescuing the Imprisoned and Caring 
for the Wounded — Burying the Dead — The Work of the Ked Cross — The 
King and Queen of Italy and Their Rescue Work — Personality of the King 
— His Reign. 

If ever a Twentieth Century invention proved its usefulness 
that of wireless telegraphy did in this hour of need. The steamer 
Erbo was just leaving the harbor of Messina when the shock and 
tidal wave came. She put back and picked ujd a load of refugees, 
then left for the nearest city, Palermo. Her wireless telegraph 
operator succeeded in flashing the news of the disaster to some 
British warships in the harbor of Syracuse about forty miles away. 
After passing the dreadful news to some Eussian warships also in 
the harbor, these ships started at once for the scene of the disaster 
and arrived about noon Monday. These vessels poured hundreds 
of blue jackets and soldiers into the stricken city and began the 
first real work of rescue. Order was restored, property protected 
and help for the wounded promptly furnished. The Eussian ships 
arrived late the same afternoon and the French ships the next 
morning. All the vessels were turned into hospitals, and every man 
and every craft, of whatever kind, gave all they could spare and 
more, to help the wounded and feed the starving. 

The Brotherhood of Nations was no idle phrase in this hour of 
distress for here were sailors and soldiers of the Czar striving 
side by side with American, French, British and Italian to succor 
and help the afflicted Italians in their own fateful land. 

"With courage and daring they scaled tottering walls to rescue 
unfortunates unable to extricate themselves and in so doing faced 
death many times every hour. Little children whose parents were 
crushed beneath the ruins were rescued, soothed with kind words 
and tenderly cared for. 

115 



116 The Beotheehood of Nations. 

One prominent Italian newspaper in speaking of the work of 
these men said: 

FOREIGN SAILORS GIVE ALL. 

"In the relief work the officers and men of the foreign war- 
ships have been untiring, and their courage is beyond words. The 
crew of one ship gave up every thing they possessed for the benefit 
of the refugees and practically forgot rest and sleep for more than 
thirty-six hours in their devotion to duty." 

ORIGIN OF THE "SOCIETY OF THE RED CROSS." 

After notable services in our War of 1861-5, Miss Clara Barton 
sought rest and health in Europe, but Providence led her again 
and she was introduced to similar work in the war of France 
against Prussia. 

At Geneva she was waited upon by representatives of the ''So- 
ciety of the Eed Cross," who had heard of her remarkable work for 
the Union cause in the Civil War, to solicit her counsels and aid 
in behalf of the sick and wounded of both armies. She knew noth- 
ing of the Eed Cross Society — had not even heard of it. 

They explained to her that ''the object of the Society, as set 
forth in the articles of the Geneva Convention of August, 1864, was 
the exemption from capture, and the protection, under treaty, of 
those who were taking care of the wounded on battlefields, and also 
such inhabitants of invaded territories as gave them shelter and 
assistance. It undertook to care for wounded men wherever they 
fell, no matter to which of the belligerent armies they belonged. ' ' 

This was precisely the character of the service which Miss Bar- 
ton had rendered in the Union army at home, and it won her heart 
at once. 

The society had adopted a flag "which was to be recognized and 
protected by all belligerents ; and also an arm-badge corres^Donding 
to the flag to be worn by members in active service. The design 
chosen for the flag and badge was a red cross on a white ground, 
simply the colors of the national flag of Switzerland reversed ; that 
bearing a white cross on a red ground. The Association took its 
name from its flag — the Society of the Eed Cross, 



The Brotherhood of Nations. 117 

All the nations were invited to join it, each national society to 
be responsible for the work of its own country. It was largely 
through the influence of Miss Clara Barton that the United States 
became a participant in this noble work. 

In one of her i^ublic addresses advocating that our country 
agree to the Bed Cross Convention, Miss Barton said: ''There 
is not a peace society on the face of the earth so potent, so effectual 
against war, as the Bed Cross of Geneva." 

With the San Francisco and the Italian earthquake the Bed 
Cross found noble work without a cruel war. The Bed Cross of 
today suggests less of the cruel slaughter of men in war than its 
founders at Geneva had in mind. 

The Bed Cross Society in America, through its State Branches 
and Committees, made a careful and systematic canvass of the en- 
tire countiy and raised many hundreds of thousands of dollars 
which was forwarded to the National Bed Cross Society and by 
them to the Italian Society to help relieve the awful condition of 
the many thousands of sufferers through the disaster. 

THE ROYAL RESCUERS. 

Immediately after the news of the great loss of life and prop- 
erty was forwarded to Bome, the King and Queen of Italy started 
at once for the scene of disaster where they arrived on the following 
Wednesday. 

An eyewitness thus described their visit to the afflicted district : 

**One cannot find words of sufficiently high praise for the con- 
duct of the King and Queen. His Majesty grasped the situation 
in an instant and set to work all the powers he controls to alleviate 
the horrors of the situation by active participation in the work of 
actual rescue as well as by his orders issued to his officers and 
others. 

"Before Their Majesties had gone more than a few rods from 
the dock they found themselves among the ruins with the dead all 
about them. Even the dying pinned beneath walls and masonry, 
heard the wild cries of welcome mingled with the chorus of wail- 
ing, as a great mob of half distracted men and women crowded 



1.18 The Beotherhood of Nations. 

about the Eoyal couple and followed them as their guards made a 
way into the ruins. 

' ' The Queen became faint from the sights and sounds about her 
and faltered for a moment, but bravely recovered herself and, close 
beside the King, marched into the kingdom of death. Within a 
few minutes as they passed among the dead she spied a little child 
lying amid the ruins. 

''Her Majesty rushed over to the small bruised body, bent down 
and exclaimed, 'The poor baby lives,' and picking him up, almost 
ran with him back to the dock, where she placed him in the hands 
of surgeons. The child was terribly bruised and cut but sur- 
vived. 

' ' The King made himself dear to all his subjects, especially to 
those in the earthquake zone, by his prompt and personal aid in 
times of disaster. This makes plausible a story told by one of his 
companions, who said that as the royal pair and the crowd sur- 
rounding them made their way through the ruins a man pinned 
under a great block of stone and supposed to be dead raised his 
head, repeated the cries of acclaim and dropped back dead. 

"There is a deep coating of mud all over, and Their Majesties 
walked through it in their work. The Queen was frequently affected 
to tears by the sight of the homeless, helpless women who followed 
her, crying for pity, half crazed by their misfortunes. If she looked 
upon them they threw themselves upon their knees in the mire and 
with clasped hands prayed for her help. ' * 

KING AND aUEEN GO WITHOUT SLEEP. 

The government was alarmed at the risks the King and Queen 
were voluntarily encountering, Emmanuel repeatedly being forced 
to dodge falling walls. Both the King and Queen donned coarse 
working clothes and entered the ruins frequently at the head of the 
rescuing parties. The King had but a few hours ' sleep after arriv- 
ing on the scene, and was scarred and worn down by his harrowing 
experiences. 

"It is not as a Queen, but as a woman, that I am here," said 
Helena, to some one who mentioned her rank. 



The Beothekhood of Nations. 119 

It is a deplorable tendency for mortals to always question the 
motives of each other. Throughout the history of the World, no 
doubt, great men and women, including Kings and Queens, have 
been unjustly criticised for acts that made for the best, for all 
mankind. 

By some it may be argued that the action of the King and Queen 
of Italy in hastening to Messina and Eeggio on the first news of the 
catastrophe was a clever and spectacular bid for popularity, and 
that their presence on the scene of the disaster was superfluous. 

In reply to this, it may be mentioned that it needed the presence 
01 a man possessed of authority, such as the Ruler, to assume the 
direction of the work of rescue and relief in the first days of terrible 
confusion and chaos, following the destruction of Messina and 
Eeggio. 

The survivors were in many cases completely bereft of their 
reason. Hundreds of police and thousands of soldiers had been 
killed by the destruction of their barracks, while every jail and 
penitentiary was emptied of its prisoners and convicts, who availed 
themselves of the occasion to plunder the dying and the dead. 

Add to this, the absence of water and of food, the ruined build- 
ings flaming in every direction, the moans and screams of the 
injured and of the demented, and on^ may pofesibly picture to one 's 
self the inferno in which the strong and masterful hand of a King 
alone, whose authority was unquestioned, could initiate the work of 
restoring some semblance of order and of organizing relief. 

Moreover, the arrival of the King and Queen on the scene gave to 
the s-urvivors of the population of Messina and Reggio the assur- 
ance that they werd nqt being abandoned to their fate, and that the 
latter were engaging the sympathy of their coun^trymen and of the 
government at work in their behalf. 

The cable dispatches indeed, have mentioned that in one or two 
of the stricken towns and villages on the coast of Sicily, and on the 
mainland in the vicinity of Eeggio, the appearance of the King was 
the first initimation to the survivors tliey had not been deserted, cut 
off as they were from all communication by the destruction of 
telegraph wires and railroad lines. 

The presence of the Queen, too, was of incalculable benefit in 



120 The Bkotherhood or Nations. 

allaying terror and in soothing the terror-stricken populace. 

The King and Queen of Italy hastened to the scene of the dis- 
aster immediately the news thereof reached Eome, and spent ten 
days at Messina and at Eeggio, directing the work of rescue, dis- 
tributing food, drink and clothing among those who were perishing 
of hunger, thirst, and exposure, and with their own hands tending 
the wounded and the dying. 

While they were engaged in this work of mercy the ground still 
rocked under their feet, the many shocks which occurred during 
their stay in the stricken regions, though inferior in intensity to 
the original seismic disturbances, being nevertheless sufficient to 
bring the already tottering walls and damaged buildings to the 
ground with a crash, thus adding to the destruction, the loss of life 
and the panic. 

The Queen, in fact, in endeavoring to arrest a panic of this kind 
in one of the temporary hospitals at Messina, was considerably hurt 
and bruised, and it was this that caused the King and the physicians 
on the spot to insist upon her returning to Rome, which she did with 
much reluctance, and only after it had been pointed out to her how 
much she could accomplish there in organizing arrangements for 
the welfare and future of those who have been crippled and ren- 
dered destitute by the earthquake, and above all for the numbers of 
children, many of them badly injured, who have been orphaned. 

It is on occasions such as these that monarchs in modern times 
show their mettle and demonstrate that they are not such useless 
and costly factors in European life as some people would have the 
world believe. 

While the recent earthquake horror in Sicily and southern Italy 
has surpassed in magnitude all these visitations of Providence 
within the last hundred years or more, it is worthy of note that 
whenever they occur in a monarchical country it is the sovereign 
who is ever first upon the scene and that one never hears of the 
presence on such occasions or of the assistance of those agitators 
who profess to champion the cause of downtrodden humanity, mak- 
ing a profitable business thereof. 

Surely the recent earthquake in Sicily offered to certain people 
with socialistic tendencies an unrivaled opportunity of putting into 



The Bkotheehood of Nations. 121 

execution some of their doctrines and professions of compassion 
for suffering mankind. 

Courage in the face of danger is a virtue the possession of which 
even the bitterest foes of monarchy have rarely been able to deny 
to royalty. 

It might seem, therefore, almost superfluous to say anything 
about the pluck displayed by the King and Queen in hurrying to 
Messina, although knowing full well that the first of the seismic 
disturbances would be inevitably followed by others. 

As a rule, people seek on such occasions as these to escape from 
the earthquake zone. For the earthquake is a thing to which no 
one ever becomes indifferent. The author speaks from experience. 

I have lived' for months together in places where earthquakes 
were of weekly occurrence, and where everything breakable on 
the shelves had«to be kept wired. But one never becomes accus- 
tomed thereto. The earthquake gets on the nerves, and the more of 
them you experience the less you like them. 

That at the moment when there was a universal sauve qui pent 
from the stricken district the King and Queen should have hastened 
to the scene, betokens an indifference to peril that would excite a 
great deal more praise and coimnendation were not Europe accus- 
tomed to conduct of this kind on the part of its rulers. 

Italy's monarchs have been particularly conspicuous in this re- 
spect. Thus, when four years ago the southern portion of the prov- 
ince of Calabria, was visited by an earthquake, or rather a series of 
disturbances of this kind, which destroyed nearly all the trade and 
industry of the province, reducing a quarter of a million of people 
to destitution and killing outright thousands, Victor Emmanuel 
hastened from his chateau of Eacconiggi, in northern Italy, to the 
scene of the disasters, and would have been accompanied by his 
consort had she not been at the time on the very eve of motherhood. 

In doing this, he was following in the footsteps of his father, who 
some twenty years ago, when the cholera was raging with such in- 
tensity at Naples insisted, in the face of the opposition of his min- 
isters, upon hastening from his country seat at Monza, near Milan, 
to the scene. 

Meeting the cardinal archbishop of Naples in the hospital, by thf 



122 The Beothekhood of Nations. 

bed of the dying, and on being landed" and thanked by the prelate 
for coming, he cut short his expressions of gratitude by the remark 
that it was '''the trade of Kings" to endeavor to succor and to bring 
comfort and relief to the people confided toi their rule in moments 
of danger and of distress such as these. 

In fact, the attitude of Humbert 'and of some of his brother rulers 
during great epidemics of this kind led to the remark that cholera 
hospitals had become in these modem times the battlefield of 
monarchs. The latter have very rarely nowadays the occasion of 
displaying their bravery under fire. 

For the possibility of their captivity, or of their being killed 
by some stray projectile', constitutes so great a political and dynas- 
tic handicap to the fortunes of their army, that their presence at 
the front is always discouraged, and even opposed. 

They take an opportunity, however, of giving evidence of their 
courage in times of pestilence, and of epidemics, such as those of 
Asiatic cholera and of the plague, when their visits to the hospital 
bring comfort to the dying, cheer to the sick, and much needed 
encouragement to the doctors and nurses. 

Emperor Nicholas, and his father, the late Alexander III., as well 
as his surviving consort. Czarina Marie, Emperor Francis Joseph, 
Emperor "William and his parents, have all distinguished them- 
selves in this fashion ; while Empress Eugenie atoned for many of 
the shortcomings laid at her door by the manner in which, on the 
occasion of the great cholera outbreak in Prance in 1866, she visited 
all the hospitals at Eouen, where the disease was raging with the 
greatest intensity ; while on another occasion, during a particularly 
violent epidemic of smallpox, she did not hesitate to go through the 
hospitals in Paris affected by the malady, in order to encourage the 
doctors and nurses to remain at the post of duty, although by so 
doing she risked those good looks 'and that beauty which constituted 
her principal, if not indeed her only, claim to sovereignty. 

Nor would any reference to European monarchs in this connec- 
tion be complete without a brief mention of the widowed Queen 
Marie Amelie of Portugal, who, having rendered herself immune 
from diphtheria by inoculation, with the object of removing the 
popular prejudice against this form of vaccination, was wont until 



The Brotherhood of Nations. 123 

the murder of her husband and her eldest son a year ago to visit 
the diphtheria wards of the Lisbon hospitals each week. 

She showed an even still greater degree of bravery at the time 
of the last outbreak of the bubonic plague in Portugal. While it 
lasted, she appeared daily in the hospitals, and herself acted as the 
nurse, and attended the deathbed of a young physician who suc- 
cumbed to the malady while ministering to the stricken. 

She is a trained nurse and a full fledged-physican, being the only 
occupant of a throne who is entitled to add the mystic letters of 
"M. D." to the list of her dignities. 

During the terrible inundations that spread so much ruin and 
destruction in the dual empire of Austria-Hungary in the autumn 
of 1851, and again in 1862, and finally in 1879, Francis Joseph 
himself hastened on'each occasion to the scene of danger as soon as 
ever news reached him of the disaster, personally directing the work 
of rescue and of relief, and saving with his own hands many people 
from drowning, at the peril of his own life. 

Napoleon III. acted in an identically similar fashion during the 
great inundations that devastated the south of France in the sum- 
mer of 1856, and established in this manner a far greater hold 
upon the regard and good will of his countrymen than by any other 
achievement of his eighteen years ' reign. 

Indeed, the pictures showing him engaged in taking off women 
and children from floating wreckage, and from the roofs of sub- 
m^erged farmhouses, in the midst of storm, pelting rain and wind, 
and at much personal risk have alwa5^s appealed far more to the 
popular imagination, and also to the best sentiments of the public 
than the masterpieces of great painters representing him in the act 
of directing the operations of his army, and plucking victory from 
defeat on the battlefield of Solferino. 

AUSTRIA GIVES HELENA HONOR. 

Emperor Francis Joseph conferred the grand cross of the order 
of Elizabeth upon Queen Helena of Italy in recognition of her 
' ' Self-sacrificing and heroic labors ' ' in connection with the earth- 
quake in Calabria and Sicily. The decoration was accompanied 
by an autograph letter. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE FLOOD OF GOLD. 

The World's Offerings — Sympatliy from All Nations — ^Warships to the Rescue— 
Mighty Fighting Ships Turned into Floating Hospitals — Supplies of All 
Kinds Rushed to the Afflicted People — Humanity's Work for Humanity's 
Sake — ^Italy's Sorrows Are the Sorrows of the Whole World — The One 
Great Human Duty of the Hour, Help Italy. 

The response of the world to Italy's cry for help was heeded 
around the glohe in a manner unprecedented. Thirty-six warships 
flying the flags of many nations, a peaceful armada, were dispatched 
at once and later were joined by the great American fleet of battle- 
ships who were making the world-famed trip around the globe, 
making a total of over fifty mighty fighting machines turned into 
a mission of mercy and help. 

Eiding at anchor in the harbors of the devastated cities were 
many of these *' Engines of Mercy" turned into hospitals to care 
for the injured, or distributing points for supplies to cover and 
succor the survivors. 

No race had a monopoly on charity as the uttermost ends of 
the earth contributed funds. The monarchs and peasants of Europe, 
the coolies of South Africa and the yellow nations of the East all 
sent from their treasure and their mites. 

Nothing was more inspiring to the stricken nation than the 
golden song the cable sang as the money flowed into Rome every 
minute. The prayers of the Italians included the words ''United 
States ' ' for no other country gave more speedy or generous succor. 

AMERICA SENDS THE FIRST SUPPLY SHIP. 

The supply ship Celtic was loaded with 1,500,000 rations in- 
tended for the battleship fleet when the news of the great disaster 
reached this country and on orders from the government was im- 
mediately dispatched to Messina. This was the first relief ship to 
start for the stricken isle, and her supplies were not eaten by the 

124 




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09 



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3 



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P CO 

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IN CALABRIA AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE. 
Survivors and tourists watching the troops tearing down an unsafe church steeple. 



The Flood of Gold. 127 

American sailors but by suffering sui^ivors of the Calabrian and 
Sicilian disaster. 

The second relief ship to the suffering Italians was also an 
American vessel, the Culgoa, a supi^ly boat of the U. S. Navy. This 
vessel was with the battleship fleet, two days in advance, and on 
instructions from Washington was instructed to provide all avail- 
able stores and supplies for the destitute and suffering. 

The third United States vessel sent to the stricken district 
was the gunboat Scorpion which arrived at Messina loaded with 
supplies and hospital necessities a few days after the earthquake. 
President Roosevelt's message to congress, given in another chap- 
ter, and practical form of sympathy expressed by the American 
people in their liberal contributions to the relief fund is without 
a parallel in the history of the world. 

It bespeaks a realization of a stupendous calamity and pre- 
pares to meet an appalling situation with unbounded sympathy and 
generosity. 

It made the United States the leader in the movement to re- 
lieve and succor the hungry and homeless survivors of the world's 
greatest disaster and to care for the sick and injured that mul- 
tiplied in numbers with each report from points of refuge. 

SALVATION ARMY HELPS ITALY'S SUFFERERS. 

As soon as the magnitude of the awful disaster became known, 
the Salvation Army through its headquarters in London and all 
its branches throughout the world began collections for the earth- 
quake sufferers ; the supply ships were chartered, loaded promptly 
and rushed to Italy, the head officers of the army superintending 

the work. 

THE WORLD'S CONTRIBUTIONS. 

The following table shows the amount contributed by the 
various nations, the United States being the most generous. 



128 The Flood of Gold. 

United States Leads with $3,600,000 Sent for Earthquake Sufferers 

of Sicily and Calabria. 

United States $ 3,600,000 

South America 2,000,000 

England 600,000 

Spain 400,000 

France 560,000 

Egypt 22,000 

Balkan States 20,000 

Switzerland 180,000 

Australia 160,000 

Eussia 150,000 

Belgium 160,000 

Japan 84,000 

Germany 60,000 

Turkey 40,000 

Austria 32,000 

Italy (collected) 2,000,000 

Total $10,228,000 

It must indeed have been a grand sight and one which will live 
forever in the hearts of the Italians to behold the mighty ships 
flying the flags of every nation steaming into her harbors loaded 
to the gunwalls to help her in her hour of need. 

AMBASSADOR GRISCOM ASTONISHES ITALY. 

Griscom, who repres'ents the United States at Rome, astonished 
the people of Italy with the promptness and expedition with which 
he handled the situation. Within four days after the earthquake 
he had chartered the large ocean steamship ^'Bayem" loaded it 
with supplies of all kinds, hired one hundred doctors, many hun- 
dred nurses, placed them on board the ship in charge of attaches 
from his own office and under the direction of the King of Italy 
it started at once for Messina. To accomplish this Ambassador 
Griscom spent over $200,000 and it took a small army of workmen 



The Flood of Gold. 129 

of all kinds, working day and niglit, to collect a supply and put 
them aboard the vessel. 

For his work in connection with relieving the distressed sur- 
vivors and the promptness with which he handled the matter the 
King of Italy publicly thanked him. 

The Italian parliament when it convened shortly afterward 
also added the nation's thanks to Mr. Griscom and the United 
States. 

The women in society and diplomatic circles at Washington, 
D. C, attracted much attention by their efforts to provide relief 
for the victims of the earthquake. 

Wives of the ambassadors and cabinet ministers took a iDersonal 
interest in helping to increase the fund and co-operated with 
Baroness des Planches, wife of the Italian ambassador, with the re- 
sult that substantial donations were had from the wealthy residents 
in that city. 

J. Pierpont Morgan sent $10,000 for the relief of the earthquake 
sufferers. 

The news of Mr. Morgan's contribution was communicated to 
the government by Ambassador Griscom, who also informed the 
Duke of Aosta, president of the national relief committee, of the 
donation. 

The people were touched by the promptitude with which Mr. 
Morgan contributed. The fact that Mr. Morgan returned to Italy 
the famous Ascoli cope without asking for reimbursement of the 
sum this treasure cost him endeared the American financier to the 
Italian hearts ; his generous contribution to assist the earthquake 
sufferers was a still closer tie. 

THEATRICAL PEOPLE AID ITALY'S SUFFERERS. 

Great catastrophies must be met by great measures of relief, 
and the co-operation of the theatrical profession in giving their 
talent for the benefit of the survivors cannot be passed without 
ccmment. 

Countless performances in theatres all over the country helped 
to swell the relief fund, and this was not in the large theatres alone, 
but also in what is known as ' * The 5-Cent Theatres. ' ' 



130 The Flood of Gold. 

Those who were located in New York and Chicago at the time 
of the disaster, vied with each other in doing the most to increase 
the fund. In the latter city a monster benefit was held which was 
participated in by all the leading artists which netted several thous- 
and dollars. Vaudeville artists dressed in their stage make-up 
went on the streets, sang and acted and passed around the hat. 
The city newspapers supplied their daily papers free to chorus 
girls who went on the streets and in the large ofSce buildings, and 
sold them, some men paying as high as a dollar for a two-cent 
paper. 

Stage hands, bill posters and opera house attaches assisted in 
the good cause as well as the ticket and advertising printers. 

The great heart of nature stirred in every breast — it was the 
hour of unison. The cause was worthy of the work and harmony 
reigned supreme. 

CAEUSO GIVES THOUSANDS. 

Signer Enrico Caruso, the world's greatest operatic tenor who 
is a native of Italy, but who was in the United States at the time of 
the disaster, contributed a week's salary to the relief fund. As 
Caruso receives about two thousand dollars for each performance, 
and he takes part in four performances each week, his contribu- 
tion would amount to about $8,000. 

''TAG DAY." 

The Italian relief com^mittee of Chicago held a Tag Day. They 
were assisted by nearly 500 young society ladies. This bevy of 
youth and beauty were each supplied with a large contribution box 
and about two thousand tags each. These tags were printed on 
white Bristol board with a wire attached. 



The Flood of Gold. 



131 



The ''Taggers" stationed themselves on the crowded street 
corners, in the railway depots and invaded the large office build- 
ings, with winsome smiles coujDled with an irresistible "am't you 
going to be tagged" they stopped every man and woman. 

The collection box was offered for the contribution and the 
donor received a pleasant "thank you" and departed with a tag 
securely fastened in his button hole. 




POR THE 

ITALIAN 
EARTHQUAKE 

RELIEF FUND 

^ ) 

F AC-SIMILE OF TAG USED. 



No specified sum was asked for from any individual, each gave 
what he liked and the amounts ranged from fifty dollars to a few 
pennies. Only two classes did not contribute, those who could not af- 
ford it and those too mean and stingy to unlock their purse strings. 

The "Taggers" worked from 7 o'clock in the morning until 
6 at night and their total collections netted the tidy sum of $12,000. 



CHAPTER Vm. 

UNITED STATES FLEET. 

The United States G-overnment to the Rescue— The United States Navy— The 
Greatest Fleet Ever Sent on a Cruise Joins in the Mission of Mercy and 
Relief — The Crowning Act of the Great American Fleet on Its Famous 
Globe Encircling Voyage — The Number of Officers and Men Accompany- 
ing the Great American Fleet in the Work of Rescue. 

On New Year's day President Eoosevelt announced that he had 
sent two supply ships with $300,000 worth of supplies to Italy. 

In communicating the desire of the United States Govern- 
ment to King Emmanuel, through Mr. Griscom the United States 
Ambassador at Rome the King responded to our ambassador's 
words with much feeling and declared that the United States was 
always first in any emergency. 

The supplies sent by our Government were distributed by the 
Red Cross Society to the survivors in the stricken communities. 

The great American naval fleet in the Suez canal when the earth- 
quake occurred was returning from the most notable cruise ever 
made around the world by any fleet of warships. 

President Roosevelt immediately offered to the Italian Govern- 
ment the services of the entire fleet and in so doing expressed him- 
self as feeling sure Congress would stand by him in this, when 
that body reassembled after the holiday recess, and Congress did 
approve of the President's prompt act of charity made for all the 
people of this great and prosperous nation. 

Admiral Sperry proceeded to Naples with the fleet. There the 
great squadron anchored to be called upon when vessels were 
needed for the work of rescue or to carry supplies. Before the 
great gloom and sadness overtook Italy elaborate plans had been 
made on the part of the Italian Government and at the several ports 
to entertain our naval officers and men. These plans were, of 
course, abandoned. Our officers were given a few inform.al dinners 
at Naples, Rome and Genoa which were returned in the same 
simple manner. 

132 



United States Fleet. 133 

Wlien on December 16, 1907, the great United States naval fleet 
started upon its famous cruise around the world, the administration 
of President Eoosevelt was severely criticised for the undertaking. 
When it was announced six months previously that all of the 
vessels of the fleet would be put into perfect condition for the 
cruise, a great campaign of criticism of the President and his ad- 
ministration was inaugurated and kept up until the fleet started, 
and, indeed, for some time afterward. 

It was loudly maintained that the sending of the fleet was to 
be a demonstration against Japan and its aggressions in the far 
East. This was vehemently denied both at Washington and at 
Tokio. Wlien the fleet arrived in Japanese waters, the Japanese 
government had in preparation a cordial reception to Admiral 
Sperry and his fleet that has hardly been rivaled in the history of 
the world. The friends of the administration, through the admin- 
istration adherents among the press now had their inning. It 
seemed to be demonstrated that the effect of the fleet's visit to 
Japan was to cement the two nations in stronger friendship than 
ever before. . It is noteworthy that the sensational war talk that 
had been going on in our own country, as well as through the press 
of other nations, suddenly ceased after the friendly and elaborate 
reception given the officers and the men of the fleet. 

The climax of this grand cruise Was the visit to stricken Italy 
in its time of sore need. There is no longer any talk of war be- 
tween Japan and the United States, and the idea that the fleet 
would bring about a war has been completely dispelled. In this 
connection all sorts of theories were advanced by the American 
sensational press, as well as by the press of Europe. It was 
charged that the wiley Japs, or some fanatical society there, would 
take occasion to destroy one or more of our vessels, anchored 
peaceably in the harbor, and that there would be a repetition of the 
Maine disaster at Havana. But the alarmists, some of whom had 
stultified themselves, have been silenced. And while this is true 
it serves the interest of a free Eepublic like the United States to 
have the acts of any administration discussed, for the benefit of 
the people, if not criticised with the widest freedom. The people 
of the United States are educated to do their own thinking and to 



134 U-j^iTED States Fleet. 

get wliatever benefit may come from a lively discussion of all of 
the acts of those in charge of the government. 

The fleet sailed sonthvv^ard through West Indian waters and 
encircled the South American Continent, touching at some of the 
principal ports of that country. The friendly relations between 
the United States and the several nations of South America have 
been getting better each year, particularly during the last decade. 
The visit of our fleet to those countries tended to enhance the im- 
proved relations existing between the United States and the pro- 
gressive states down there. 

The fleet passed throgigh the Straits of Magellan and continued 
along the western coast of South America to San Francisco. From 
the Pacific coast the fleet proceeded to our Hawaiian possessions 
2,000 miles into the Pacific from San Francisco. From San Fran- 
cisco the fleet sped toward the Philippine Islands and remained at 
Manila for several days. Thus our Filipino subjects and brethren, 
numbering some 9,000,000, as well as our Hawaiian subjects, num- 
bering about 150,000, were enabled to realize, to an extent, with 
their own eyes, the strength of the nation of which they are now 
apart. If for no other reason alone this was a sufficient one cer- 
tainly for the fleet to make the Trans-Pacific voyage. The Filipinos, 
in particular, have been, of course, very ignorant of the United 
States and our system of government. Our navy first went there 
on May 1, 1898, on a mission of war and destruction, which, un- 
happily as the world is constituted, seems at times necessary. Did 
not the greater fleet of Admiral Sperry, which visited the Islands, 
ten years later, have a greater result toward the civilization of the 
Philippine Islands, in its mission of peace, than the fleet of Admiral 
Dewey? 

From Japan the fleet proceeded southward to New Zealand, 
where the government of New Zealand had appropriated more than 
$100,000 to entertain our officers and men in the most cordial and 
lavish fashion at Auckland. 

From Auckland the fleet prooeeded across the Tasm'an Sea in 
five days to Sidney, Australia, where practically all Australia 
gathered in honor of our fleet. Other receptions were held at Mel- 
bourne, Adelaide and Albany. As the fleet prooeeded toward, the 



United States Fleet. 135 

Indian Ocean to Colombo in Ceylon, another British possession, 
it was received everywhere with marked friendliness and amaze- 
ment. 

Across the Indian Ocean from Ceylon the fleet cruised slowly to 
the strait of Pirin, the entrance into the Eed Sea, probably the 
hottest navigable sea in the world. It was while our fleet was 
passing through the Eed Sea and approaching Suez, where begins 
the Suez Canal connecting the Eed Sea with the Mediterranean 
Sea, that the Sicilian-Italian earthquake occurred. The President 
of the United States, through the Navy Department, immediately 
began to communicate with Admiral Sperry by cable, with a view 
to having the fleet proceed to the scene of the earthquake, as a 
relief expedition, with all haste. Two or three of the vessels were 
sent on in advance. We have related in another place something 
of the work done by our fleet. 

It may be said that when the officers of our great fleet 
first heard of the earthquake disaster, that it was almost at 
the northern end of the Eed sea, near Suez, under the shadow 
almost of Mount Sinai. It is here that the Bible tells us that the 
children of Israel and the Egyptians crossed the Eed Sea and 
ascended the mountain-, that is, the children of Israel did but the 
Egyptians were all lost, it will be remembered. The waters of 
the sea were made to seiparate at this particular point in the Eed 
Sea, as Bible students agree. The Lord commanded Moses and 
Aaron to ascend the mountain when He promulgated the ten com- 
mandments, as recorded in the 20th chapter of Exodus. 

In Exodus 19:18, the verse reads: '^And Mt. Sinai was alto- 
gether on a smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire ; and 
the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the 
whole Mount quaked greatly. ' ' 

It was very near this historic spot that Admiral Sperry, as 
stated, received the news of the terrible disaster that had befallen 
Italy. 

To sum up, the great American fleet, in its cruise around the 
world, crossed the equator four times — first, before it reached the 
coast of Brazil and next on the northwest coast of South America 
as it passed the shores of Ecuador, off the Gralapagos lies; and 



136 United Sedates Fleet. 

next on its way to New Zealand, north of the Samoan Islands and 
the fourth time in the Indian Ocean, before reaching Colombo. 

Not the least of the benefits accruing from this famous voyage, 
is the experience gained by our navigating officers, as well as by 
each one of the some 16,000 men, comprising the crews of the 
vessels. 



CHAPTER IX. 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO THE RESCUE. 

Appropriation by the United States Congress for the Relief of the Starving 
Survivors — The President's Message to the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives Recommending the Appropriation — The Red Cross Society Ap- 
propriations — Balance of San Francisco Relief Fund Transferred by Cable 
to Italy — The Amounts Raised by the Several States of the Union for 
the Relief of the Men, Women and Children Made Poverty-stricken in 
This Most Awful of the World's Disasters. 

*'To tlie Senate and House of Eepresentatives : 

' ' The appalling calamity wliich lias befallen the people of Italy 
is followed by distress and suffering throughout a wide region 
among many thousands who have escaped with life but whose 
shelter and food and means of living are destroyed. The ordinary 
machinery for supplying the wants of civilized communities is 
paralyzed; and an exceptional emergency exists which demands 
that the obligations of humanity shall regard no limit of national 
lines. 

' ' The immense debt of civilization to Italy ; the warm and stead- 
fast friendship between that country and our own ; the affection for 
their native land felt by great numbers of good American citizens 
who are immigrants from Italy; the abundance with which God has 
blessed us in our safety; all these should prompt us to immediate 
and effective relief. 

< ' Private generosity is responding nobly to the demand by con- 
tributions through the safe and efficient channel of the American 
Red Cross society. 

^RECOMMENDED $500,000 FUND. 

'Confident of your approval, I have ordered the government 
supply ships Celtic and Culgoa to the scene of disaster, where, upon 
receiving the authority which I now ask from you, they will be 
able to dispense food, clothing, and other supplies with which they 
are laden to the value of about $300,000. The Celtic has already 

137 



138 United States Goveknment to the Eescue. 

sailed and the Culgoa is at Port Said. Eight vessels of the return- 
ing battleship fleet are already under orders for Italian waters and 
that government has been asked if their services can be made useful. 

''I recommend that the congress approve the application of sup- 
plies above indicated and further appropriate the sum of $500,00Q 
to be applied to the work of relief at the discretion of the executive 
and with the consent of the Italian government. 

"I suggest that the law follow the form of that passed after the 
Mont Pelee disaster in 1902, 

''THEODOEE ROOSEVELT. 

"The White House, Jan. 4, 1909." 

ACTION TAKEN BY THE SENATE. 

Following the receipt of the president's message, resolutions 
giving effect to it were introduced in both houses. The senate reso-i 
lution follows: 

' ' To enable the president of the United States to procure, trans- 
port and distribute among the suffering people of Italy and its 
islands such provisions, clothing, medicines, moneys and other 
articles as he shall deem advisable for the purpose of rescuing and 
succoring the people who are in peril and threatened with starva- 
tion in consequence of the recent earthquake, the sum of $500,000 
is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the treasury not other- 
wise appropriated ; and the action of the president in dispatching' 
the naval vessels to Italy with food and supplies for the Italian 
sufferers is hereby ratified and approved. 

''In the execution of this act, the president may use any ves- 
sels of the United States navy and such other vessels as he may, 
in his discretion, employ." 

RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE. 

The house resolution reads: ''To enable the president of the 
United States to procure and distribute among the suffering and 
destitute people of Italy such provisions, clothing, medicines and 
other necessary articles, and to take such other steps as he shall 
deem advisable for the purpose of rescuing and succoring the people 



United States Goveenment to the Eesctje. 139 

who are in peril and threatened with starvation, the sum of $800,- 
000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the treasury not 
otherwise appropriated. 

"In the execution of this act the president is requested to ask 
and obtain the approval of the Italian government and is hereby 
authorized to employ any vessels of the United States navy and 
to charter and employ any other suitable steamships or vessels." 

WHY SUM WAS INCREASED. 

At the conference at the White House which was attended by 
Speaker Cannon, the sum of $500,000 was agreed upon as the 
amount which should be appropriated. That sum was included in 
the act drafted by the appropriation committee. Ten minutes be- 
fore the house convened the speaker received a letter from the 
White House suggesting that the amount be increased to $800,000. 
Before any action could be taken by the committee on appropria- 
tions the house was in receipt of the president's message on the 
subject. 

At the hurried meeting of the senate committee the amount 
was increased to conform with the president's later recommenda- 
tion, with comparatively no delay. Mr. Hale reported to the senate 
a resolution adopted by the committee on appropriations, and it 
was agreed to with only one vote in the negative, which was cast 
by Senator Bailey. 

RED CROSS SAN FRANCISCO REUEF FUND. 

After completing its work of relief for the sufferers in San 
Francisco, the Eed Cross Society had a balance on hand of over 
$400,000. At a special meeting of the Committee it was decided to 
turn this amount over to the Eed Cross Society of Italy, and this 
was concurred in by the San Francisco Committee. The money 
was forwarded in amounts of $50,000, the first remittance being 
sent by cable on December 31st, 1908. 



140 United States Government to the Rescue. 

The work of the house in passing the above bill was probably 
done as quickly as any piece of legislation ever put through, every- 
thing was almost unanimous. No debating was done and it took 
only the time necessary to read the President's message and the 
bills in ^ach house. A short time afterwards President Roosevelt 
signed the bill and the United States government had given $800,- 
000 in money and over $300,000 in supplies to aid the stricken 
Italians. 

This official action of the American government was character- 
istic of the promptness and liberality that distinguishes' the Ameri- 
can people. 

U. S. GOVERNMENT SENDS 3,000 HOUSES. 

An innovation in international relief measures was undertaken 
by the American government in expending the $500,000 in money 
appropriated by congress for the Italian earthquake suiferers. 
President Roosevelt decided to send to Italy material for the con- 
struction of 2,500 or 3,000 frame houses, supplementing this by 
supplying carpenters to supervise construction. 

After the appropriation was made serious consideration was 
given by the president and the state department as to the best 
methods of relief. Ambassador Griscom at Rome was asked to 
give the views of himself, his fellow members on the American 
relief committee, and of the Italian government as to the most 
sensible course to adopt. 

A final decision was reached. Then instructions were given by 
President Roosevelt to Secretary Newberry whereby the machi- 
nery of the navy department was enlisted in the plan. Mr. New- 
-l^erry made the arrangements. 

STATEMENT MADE BY NEWBERRY. 

The following statement was made public at the secretary's 
office : 

''The navy department has an^anged for the expenditure of 
approximately $500,000 in the purchase of building materials, in- 
cluding all articles necessary for the construction of substantial 



United States Government to the Eescue. 141 

frame houses for the Italian sufferers, and the shipments will begin 
by the sailing of two steamers at once. This lumber was delivered 
in New York, and the sailing of the vessels proceeded as fast as 
they could be loaded. 

''Each ship carried the materials for 500 houses, and it re- 
quired not less than six steamers for the entire amount purchased. 
The department sent with each vessel several civilian house car- 
penters with plans to assist in the erection of these houses." 



CHAPTER X. 
AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE. 

K'ature E-emains Cruel, Additional Shocks Adding Terror to the Stricken Peo- 
ple — Description of Messina After the Earthquake by !F. Marion Craw- 
ford, the Celebrated Writer — Millions in Treasure Buried at Messina — 
Miraculous Rescues — Immense Graves Hold Over One Thousand Bodies — 
Messina and Reggio to Be Rebuilt. 

Even while the rescuers were at work removing the debris, and 
while the sympatheitic world was hurrying relief to the sufferers; 
while the stunned and hapless people were trying to collect their 
thoughts and face the stern fact that they had lost all that they 
held most dear, Nature remained unkind. Earthquake shocks con- 
tinued daily, sometimes as many as ten in one hour. Walls that had 
sitood the first shock came tumbling down endangering rescue par- 
ties and piling tons upon tons of wreckage on top of helpless 
victims already buried alive. 

Every fresh shock would bring loud cries from the terrified 
population, as the cloud of dust caused by the falling walls would 
arise and float off toward the sea. 

F. Marion Crawford, the celebrated author, who has a magnifi- 
cent castle in the southern part of Italy, gives the folloiwing descrip- 
tion of Messina after the earthquake: 

' ' The total destruction of a flourishing and commercially neces- 
sary city with its entire po]Dulation is a calamity without parallel 
in history. 

'^A new and unexpected problem presents itself at Messina, 
where the majority of the inhabitants have perished with their 
dwellings, goods, belongings, papers, and even land titles ; in many 
cases leaving no surviving relatives. 

"How can a new city possibly rise on the ashes of the old! 
"^Yho will lay the first stone! Who will adventure to light the first 
fire on his hearth! It has been decided in the interests of public 
safety and public health to raze to the ground the ruins of this 

142 




THE TEBBIBLE TIDAL WAVE. 

Showing the rushing waters engulfing the people and the terror stricken domestic 
animals fleeing to supposed security, only to be drowned in the flooding water. 




SAN GIOVANNI. 
The center of the earthquake was near here and this beautiful city was razed to 

the ground. 




PALACES AT MESSINA. 
The residences of the government officials overlooking the harbor before the earth- 
quake. Nothing remains of them but a pile of ruins. All the officials 
and their families perished. 



After the Eaethquake. 145 

city and the leveled ruins are to be covered with quicklime as the 
only means of effectually purifying the now pestilential air. 

WORST REPORTS CONFIRMED. 

''T\'Tiere a city of 150,000 inhabitants rose in a wide amphi- 
theater only a few days ago, overlooking one of the most magnifi- 
cent harbors in the world, men will seek a week hence a vast 
whitened hollow in a hill, the sepulchre of 130,000 human beings, 
of whom more than half died in unimaginable agony. 

"At least there will be peace after this hideous week. A mem- 
ber of my family, who risked his life to see and learn the exact 
truth on Wednesday, Thursday and Fl'iday, describes scenes of un- 
dreamed of horror which have been unhappily confiiTQcd in every 
detail by destitute survivors brought to us here as elsewhere to be 
healed, fed, clothed and housed. Death was everywhere. 

''On Friday evening the bodies of persons extricated from the 
ruins and of those who had died of their injuries-as soon as they saw 
the light lay so thick in the streets that it was hard not to tread on 
them. 

MANY ARE BURIED ALIVE. 

' ' No battlefield ever presented a more terrible sight, while dogs 
of ever^^ breed, from Sicilian mastiffs and sheep dogs to the slink- 
ing curs of the hill villages, had gathered in thousands, though 
hundreds upon hundreds of them were shot by soldiers and blue 
jackets. 

"As night fell sullen fires still glowed upward to the darkening 
sky and the shrieks of buried victims grew more piercing and de- 
spairing as death by fire drew near to those whom neither wounds 
nor suffocation had yet set free. Better the mournful silence and 
the lime-strewn hollow which will soon mark the spot where Mes- 
sina stood. 

' ' Italy hias made a magnificent effort to help where noi assistance 
could avail and she has been nobly seconded by the foreign men- 
of-war that were within reach of the scene of the catastrophe. 
Soldiers and seamen worked night and day to save life, often with- 
out food or water, some of them wielding spade and pickax for 



146 Aftee the Eakthquake. 

fourteen hours without being relieved in the half-organized assist- 
ance which prevailed. 

PROVISIONS SWEPT INTO SEA. 

''Above all, the English and Eussian bluejackets have shown 
themselves to be abisolutely fearless and untiring, but their tre- 
mendous exertions have been of little avail. Fifty thousand trained 
laborers working in gangs regularly relieved and fed could not 
have saved one-tenth of the population from death. 

^'Oiie of the shocks in the harbor caused a second tidal wave 
that swept away the great supply of provisions generously sent by 
Germany and just unloaded on the docks. 

'^The Straits of Messina, scarcely one week ago as lovely as the 
Bosphorus itself, will lie between barren and whitened shores. 
From end to end there are vast cemeteries where lie the bodies of 
nearly 150,000 men, women and children. Soon the last steamer 
will leave the harbor for Naples with the last ship load of destitute, 
homeless, half-naked beings. Where will they live who have lost 
all; where will they begin life again whose lives are literally all 
they have 1 God Imows. God help them. ' ' 

MILLIONS IN TREASURE IN MESSINA DEBRIS. 

Messina is a. veritable gold mine. Valuables running up into the 
thousands were taken from the ruins to the steamers in the bay. 
Currency to the amount of $3,600,000', including the contents of the 
safe of the Sicilian- American Bank, was transferred to ships. One 
of the rich residents of the city, a banker named Mauremati, made 
penniless by the earthquake, went to the authorities barefooted 
and half clothed, and asked for a pair of shoes and an overcoat. 

MIRACULOUS RESCUES. 

A squad of sharpshooters rescued an old man who had been 
twelve days in the ruins. Their aittention was called to the place 
where he was lying by the whining of a dog. They removed a 
great heap of debris and came upon the dog and its master. He 
was alive but unconscious. The officer commanding the squad 
adopted the dog. 



After the Eaethquake. 147 

A man named Bensaja, who had passed fourteen days without 
food locked in the mins of his home, was taken out unconscious 
and resuscitated. He had been caught in a kind of straitjacket 
formed by the debris and, unable to move, was compelled to watch 
the lingering death of his wife and four children. A married 
couple were also removed not only alive but conscious. Their im- 
prisonment had lasted thirteen days. 

SAILOR FINDS SWEETHEART. 

A curious ease of telepathy occurred to a sailor on board the 
Italian battle-ship Regina Elena. lie was granted leave to search 
for a girl in Messina with whom he was engaged to be married. 
After having sought for her during four days he returned to the 
ship exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, during which he dreamed 
of his fiancee saying to him, "I am sBlive; come', save meC" The 
sailor waked, obtained fresh leave from the commander of the ship, 
gathered together several friends and went to the spot, of which he 
had dreamed. The party penetrated the ruins of a house and found 
the girl uninjured. 

BABY LIVES 16 DAYS IN RUINS. 

An extraordinary disinterment took place today, a 3 year old 
girl being taken* from earthquake ruins alive and uninjured, after 
sixteen days ' burial. The possibility of the girl 's having had nour- 
ishment is excluded and it is believed that part of the time she was 
in a cataleptic state. 

CHILDREN CLING TO DEAD MOTHER. 

One of the rescuers found under the ruins of a house five children 
alive, but unable to speak, clinging around the corpse of their 
mother. 

FACE DOOM TO GUARD RICHES. 

A priest and his attendant, who were found alive amid the ruins 
of their presbytery, declined to leave. They preferred to remain 
in this dangerous situation, as beneath the ruins were hidden their 
treasures. They told the rescuers life was not worth living without 
their wealth. 



148 After the Eauthquake. 

BOGS ATTACK REFUGEES. 

Dogs constituted one of the dangers to the earthquake refugees. 
These animals, starving and often rahid through lack of water, 
gnaw the bodies like hyenas and frequently attack the refugees 
themselves. Among the wounded was a young man whose face had 
been badly mutilated by dogs. After the earthquake he was buried 
in debris up to his neck, and, while thus unable to move, was at- 
tacked by three of the animals and seriously hurt before his cries 
attracted help. Many people were shooting all vagrant dogs at 
sight and stray bullets were another danger in the city. 

ARCHITECTUSE LOST TO WOELB. 

The correspondent made two tours about the wrecked city 
through streets piled twenty or thirty feet high with debris. It was 
a wilderness of ruin a mile wide and two miles long. Beautiful 
churches, splendid villas in the foothills, hospitals, barracks and the 
university all shared the common lot. Two-thirds of the magnifi- 
cent Norman Cathedral, the pride of Messina, is in ruins and little 
or nothing remains of the relics of Phoenician, Greek, Roman and 
Saracen architecture which marked the stages of Messina 's twenty- 
six centuries of tragic and tumultuous history. The loss to the 
world will be irreparable. 

Here and there were encountered salvage parties at work. They 
were digging at the instance of some distracted wife or mother 
who imagined she heard a voice, but usually there was no echo to 
the pathetic calling. One party was trying to dig out a girl whose 
crying could be heard plainly, but as the correspondent watched 
there was a sudden cave-in, and thereafter silence. 

In many places decomposing arms and legs protruded from heaps 
of masonry and plaster. 

1,300 VICTIMS BURIED IN ONE GRAVE AT MESSINA. 

Stricken Messina buried 1,300 of her dead in an immense grave 
100 feet long and 30 feet wide, even as the city trembled from 
numerous earthquake shocks. 

The funeral ceremony was, perhaps, the most impressive that the 
world has ever seen. In the great trench the bodies were piled one 



After the Earthquake. 149 

on top of the other and covered with quicklime. The scene of the 
burial was at Margresso, where hundreds of the ill-fated survivors 
gathered and wept as the Latin words of the service and benedic- 
tion fell from the quivering lips of Archbishop Darrigo. Tears 
rolled down the cheeks of the prelate as he prayed for the dead. 

MESSINA AND REGGIO TO BE REBUILT. 

Although it will take a generation for these cities to recover and 
be rebuilt prominent citizens absolutely refused to abandon them. 
The Italian government, which met shortly after the disaster, also 
decided to rebuild the cities and work will be begun as soon as the 
army of laborers now busy clearing away the debris is finished. 

A special committee was appointed by the government to visit all 
cities subject to earthquakes, especially central America and Japan, 
and this committee is to report upon the best kind of buildings that 
can be erected to withstand earthquake shocks. Grovernment and 
public buildings will be built on these special lines, and all private 
buildings will have to conform to the rules laid down by the gov- 
ernment. 

COMMITS SUICIDE BROODING OVER DISASTER. 

Despondency over the death of thousands of her countrymen in 
the Italian earthquake caused the suicide of Mrs. Genevieve 
Guagliata, wife of Dr. Vincent Guagliata, a prominent Italian 
druggist living at 1158 Addison Avenue. 

She was found dead from gas fumes in the bathroom by her 
husband when he returned home late at night. She came from 
Messina, where the quake claimed its great sacrifice of lives. 

NOTE WARNS HUSBAND. 

When Dr. Guagliata returned to his home he found the follow- 
ing note warning him to be careful because of escaping gas on a 
talble in the sitting room : 

Dear Vincent : 

Please be careful when you come in and open all the win- 



150 Afteb the Earthquake. 

dows and do not light any matches. I have turned on the gas 
and you remember about the cremation you promised me, Vin- 
cent. Goodbye. 

BKOODED OVEH aXTAKE. 

Friends of the Italian woman told the police that she read con- 
stantly of the disaster abroad and brooded over the news. Dr. 
Guagiiata declared he could attribute no other cause for his wife's 
suicide than despondency over the earthquake. 

AN AMEEICAN GIEL DESCEIBES THE RESCUE WORK. 

Miss May Sherman of Elizabeth, N. J., who was active in the 
work at Taormina for the relief of the earthquake sufferers, gave 
details of the conditions of the refugees who came under her ob- 
sei'vation. Some of the wounded, she said, were so severely hurt 
that there was little hope of their reaching Catania alive. They 
were taken from the train and given every attention possible at 
Taormina. Italian doctors and an English physician. Dr. Dash- 
wood, and his wife, were indefatigable in their labors. Four of 
the wounded died during the first two days. 

"All the bakers of Taormina," Miss Sherman said, ''were kept 
at work making bread, and they were paid with contributions from 
the foreign colony. We did everything possible to obtain clothing 
to cover the naked and shivering people. There were many children 
among the refugees who had been made orphans by the earthquake. 

"A Mrs. Welch, who had intended to go to Messina the day be- 
fore the earthquake, saved her life by postponing her depairture. 
Mrs. Welch has tal^en charge of a little girl Tefugee, evidently of 
gentle birth, and if she is not claimed will adopt the child. Lady 
Hill and her daughter, who have a school at Taormina in which 
they teach embroidering, devoted themselves to nursing and caring 
for the suiierers, receiving some in their own villa. 

REFUGEES SHOW GREAT PATIENCE. 

''I was struck," Miss Sheniian went on, ''by the behavior of the 
refugees. They seemed dazed with terror and suffering, but were 
not complaining. They were ready to share whatever was given 
them with one another, and even those who were suffering most did 



Aftee the Earthquake. 151 

not forget to thank us for the kindness shown. The people of 
Giardini seemed to have no thought of giving even water to the 
refugees until such a course was suggested to them by the foreign- 
ers, but as soon as they did wake up they showed great kindness 
and received 100 of the wounded in their homes. 

''On the morning of Dec. 28 a strong earthquake shock was felt 
at Taoimina, but no damage was done. Even the ceilings were 
not cracked. I awoke to see the furniture swaying and was alarmed 
at first, but was reassured on hearing it said that such a thing as 
houses being thrown down by an earthquake at Taormina was un- 
known. The inhabitants of the city, however, were terror stricken, 
and fled to the streets, where they formed processions, cariying 
statues of St. Peter and praying that no harm come to them or to 
the town. 

AMERICANS AND ENGLISH HELP. 

' ' It was Tuesday when we received the terrible news from Mes- 
sina, which ordinarily is only two hours from Taormina. That 
afternoon trains to Catania began running. Hearing that enonnous 
numbers of refugees and wounded were passing through Giardini, 
four miles from Taormina, the English residents, American visitors 
and strangers of all nations decided to help in providing relief for 
the people clamoring for food and water. 

''The roads from Taormina to Giardini were in the worst imag- 
inable condition, but all through the week following the earthquake 
an enthusiastic band of workers went back and forth carrjdng bread, 
bandages and clothing. 

DESCRIBES SCENES OE SUFFERING. 

"Sights seen among the refugees were harrowing. They were 
piled into the railroad carriages one on top of another. Many were 
absolutely naked, covered with mud and half dead from hunger. 
Others were bleeding from wounds that had not been bandaged. 
One woman's arms were torn from their sockets. A young artist 
was in a pitiable shape, having been precipitated with his bed from 
the top story of his house through to the ground floor, where he 



152 Aptee the Earthquake. 

remained twenty-four hours pinned down and unable to move, all 
the time listening to the screams of his dying mother and sister." 
Among the members of the rescue band were Baron Boli Cas- 
trane, who distinguished himself by his energy and self-sacrifice, 
and an American, Miss Fernald Fernard. Miss Sherman said that 
when she left the work was continued and that all available help 
was utilized to make clothes for the refugees who were passing 
through Giardini. 

MEXICO SHAKEN BY EARTHaTJAKE. 

City of Mexico, Jan. 9. — The entire western coast of Mexico 
was shaken by an earthquake yesterday. It was felt most strong- 
ly at Acapulco, in the State of Guerrero, and at Oaxaca, in the State 
of the same name. The damage was trivial and no fatalities have 
been reported. 

AUTHOE EOBEET HICHENS' VIVID STORY OE ARRIVAL 

or REFUGEES. 

Mr. Robert Hichens, the famous novelist and author of ''The 
Garden of Allah" was at Naples when the first survivors of the 
earthquake arrived. In a special article he says: 

''From the gate of the arsenal I saw a procession of injured and 
dying carried in cabs, motors, ambulances and beds. Some, with 
their wounded faces covered with mud, dust and blood, gazed va- 
cantly, with uncomprehending eyes, on the surrounding crowd. 

' ' Three men were mad, waving their naked arms in the air. One 
was shouting and cursing heaven and earth, while another was wail- 
ing in a most pitiful manner. Most of the people who assembled 
to watch the j)assage of this mournful cortege were dressed in 
mourning. 

' ' They had come to search among the survivors for relatives and 
friends. One grief-stricken woman tried to pull the covering from 
the faces of some of the wounded carried on a bed and was pre- 
vented by sailors. 

' ' The Neapolitans in their desire to succor the injured sun- Ivors 
worked splendidly. Bands of students in colored caps were making 



Apter the Earthquake. 153 

house-to-house collections for relief funds and owners of motors 
loaned their vehicles for the transportation of the wounded. 

"Another ship had just come in and I witnessed a procession of 
motors with beds on them held by the young aristocrats of Naples, 
who lavish attentions on the injured, giving them brandy and com- 
forting them in every possible way. 

HOTELS OPENED TO THE REFUGEES. 

"There are many women and small children, all bearing traces 
of suffering. Their injuries seem to be mostly of the face and head. 
It is curious to see how the fixed expression of intense horror on 
their faces renders them all strangely alike. None of this pitiable 
collection of maimed humanity has a hat. 

"Except two little boys in sailors suits who are lying on a mat- 
tress, locked in each other's arms, many of the children who reached 
here have no parents or relatives alive. They are now utterly 
bereaved, but surely they soon will find protectors. 

"The hotels lerit their omnibuses for the transportation of those 
less seriously injured and gave them beds. The heroic Russian 
sailors, who rescued many, were wildly cheered by the crowd. ' ' 

LITTLE CHILDREN BECOME HEROES. 

Many stories of daring rescues by sailors and soldiers have 
been told, but these are not the only ones who are entitled to praise. 
The heroic conduct of two children in this disastrous earthquake 
are worthy of great praise for courage and daring. 

Luigi Gabi the 12-year-old son of Prof. Gabi, a well known citizen 
of Messina, by valiant and persistent work accomplished the won- 
derful act of saving his father and mother. Little Luigi wa,s awak- 
ened from sleep by a great crash and rumbling. He felt the floor 
rock beneath him and heard a noise as if the whole sea were pouring 
in upon the land. Beams and plaster had fallen all about him, but 
he himself, by a happy chance, escaped without a scratch. He 
rushed out in his nightclothes into the open air. He was all alone. 
The shrieks of the injured rose above the continuous roar of falling 
buildings. He called vainly for his father and mother. No one paid 



154 Aftee I he Eaethquake. 

any attention to liim. It was impossible to go back into the house, 
for a second earthquake had tumbled a great mass of wreckage 
across the door. 

All night long Luigi waited. When morning came clouds over- 
spread the ruins of Messina and rain began to fall in torrents. 
Unable to find any trace of his father and mother, he at last decided 
to try to make his way back into the ruins of his home. Yv^'et and 
shivering, he clambered carefully through the debris, and at last 
reached the room in which his father and mother slept. The door 
opened outward, but against it were now piled great beams fallen 
from the floor above. The window which opened on the street had 
been blockaded by the wall of the house opposite, which had toppled 
clear across the narrow street. 

''Father!" he called at the full strength of his lungs. Although 
the roar of the rain all but drowned his voice, the cry must have 
penetrated the blockaded door, for he heard a faint sound, which 
told him that his parents still lived, and were tightly imprisoned in 
their bedroom. 

Luigi tried to get help, but everybody seemed quite distracted 
by the terrible calamity which had befallen the city, and they paid 
no attention to the pleas of the 12-year-old boy. Seeing that if any- 
thing was to be done he would have to do it himself, he returned 
resolutely to the wreckage at the door, and began to tug and strain 
at the heavy beams and mass of plaster and stone. Little by little 
he cleared it away. By nightfall, weakened by hunger and exertion, 
he had the satisfaction of seeing all but the heaviest timber moved 
enough to open the door a crack. 

He called through the door to his father, and the combined 
efforts of the two were sufficient to free the nearly suffocating 
parents from their prison and bring Luigi again to his mother's 
arms. Only the most persistent courage and devotion could have 
made it possible for a 12-year-old boy to accomplish this deed. 

A LITTLE GISL SAVES MANY LIVES. 

Another story is told of the bravery of the little Signorina 
Franzoni, who is herself only 12 years of age. She lived in the 



'After the Earthquake. 155 

institute of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. The shock hurled 
her from the bed in which she was sleeping, on the fourth floor, 
onto the bed of the girl who slept beside her, upon whom a heavy 
piece of wood from the ceiling had fallen. After freeing her small 
comrade, little Miss Franzoni ventured boldly into the dark corri- 
dors of the convent and sought to find her way out. After much 
winding about, she finally found an opening in the shattered wall 
in the rear, and made her way into the open courtyard. Then, in- 
stead of running into the open fields whither fugitives were rushing 
in great numbers, she thought of the other girls and the sisters of 
the convent who were still imprisoned inside. Eeturning the way 
she had come through the tottering building, whose foundations had 
been loosened by the violence of the quake, not knowing from one 
moment to the next whether she would not fall crashing to her death 
with the whole building on top of her, the brave girl found and led 
to safety all the inmates of the convent. 

AMERICAN CONSUL AND V7IFE KILLED. 

Dr. Arthur S. Cheney, United States Consul at Messina, who 
was killed at Messina, was bom in the State of Illinois. Early in 
his life he moved to Connecticut and entered the consuJar service 
of the United States Nov. 27th, 1906 when he was appointed vice 
and deputy consul at Reichenberg (Bohemia) Gennany. He was 
appointed consul at Messina August 15th, 1907 and held this post 
up to the date of the earthquake when he and his wife were killed. 
Mrs. Cheney was a Bohemian girl. 

BODIES RECOVERED BY AMERICAN SAILORS. 

After lying buried in the ruins of the consulate at Messina for 
eighteen days, the bodies of Arthur S. Cheney, the American Con- 
sul, and his wife were recovered at 2 o'clock Jan. 16th, 1909 by a 
detachment of sailors from the battle ship Illinois. 

The bodies were recovered in what evidently had been the bed- 
room of the Cheneys. They were found lying side by side. Mr. 
Cheney was identified by a slight physical deformity, while the 
body of his wife was recognized by a locket and a wedding ring. 



156 Aftee the Eauthquake. 

There is reason to believe that death overtook the unfortunate 
couple while they were asleep. 

No less than 400 men from the Illinois had been engaged in 
the work of excavation. 

As soon as they were unearthed the bodies were placed in coffins 
and conveyed aboard the supply ship Culgoa, which left at once for 
Naples. 

Ma.j. Laaidis, the Ameirican military attache at Rome, who had 
been superintending the work of excavating the ruins, sent a wire- 
less dispatch to the American consul at Naples asking this official 
to obtain permission of the local authorities to ship the bodies to 
Hartford, Conn., on the first available merchant steamer. The 
caskets containing the bodies of the consul and his wife were sealed 
and then wrapped e^ach in an American flag, after which American 
sailors carried them down to the water front. As they made their 
way through the ruined streets Italian soldiers and sailors saluted 
and thd people took off their hats. 

The American supply ship Culgoa with the bodies of Arthur S. 
Cheney and his wife on board, arrived at Naples from Messina. 
Maj. Landis, who was in charge of the bodies, at once came ashore 
and through the American consulate completed arrangements to 
have the two bodies embarked on the steamer Venezia, of the Fabre 
line, which left here the same evening for New York. 

The bodies of Arthur S. Cheney and Mrs. Cheney arrived at 
Hartford, Conn-., in the latter part of January and were accorded 
a magnificent military funeral. 

Every branch of the Government was represented and thous- 
ands of Americans paid the last tribute to their countryman who 
died at his post of service. 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE PEOPLE OF SICILY. 

The People of Sicily — Customs — Language — Habits and Dress — Occupation and 
Pursuits of the People. 

Sicily is an island of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the 
"toe of the boot" — Italy — and the African promontory, Cape Bon, 
near which are the City of Tunis and the ruins of Ancient Carthage. 
Its form is that of a long triangle, whose northern side runs due 
west 200 miles from Messina. The Eastern Coast runs nearly 
southward 135 miles. Sicily occupies an area — in round numbers — 
of 10,000 square miles, and had a population (1901) of 3i/^ millions, 
(355 to the square mile), making it the most densely inhabited por- 
tion of Italy. It was once called the granary of Italy, but now the 
Sicilians consume all the wheat and other grains produced in the 
Island. Located as it is, less than 100 miles from Africa, the 
climate is rather dry. The Siroccos from the desert of Libya often 
reach Sicily in the summer months,- but notwithstanding, the cli- 
mate is delightful, quite similar to that of Southern California. 
The thermometer seldom registers above 90° during a Sirocco, nor 
lower than 36° in the extremes of winter. The annual rainfall 
ranges from 20 inches on the Southern Coast to 35 inches on the 
northern. Grapes, olives and citrus fruits are the staple export 
crops. The average annual return for oranges is over $200 per 
acre, while that of grain is less than $16.00. The more barren and 
waste rocky lands produce almonds, sumach (for tanning), and 
prickly pears, (cactus). These pears (a very coarse fruit), form a 
considerable part of the subsistence of the lower classes There 
are forests on the upper slopes of the higher mountains, but the 
absence of them on the lower lands causes severe and frequent 
drouths. 

Nineteen-twentieths of the sulpher consumed in the world comes 
from Sicily. There are vast deposits of this useful mineral, con- 
densed during past ages from the gases thrown up from the bowels 

157 



158 The People of Sicily. 

of the earth, and accumulated in the craters and cones of the vol- 
canoes. A half million dollars worth of salt, (mostly sea-salt) is 
annually exported. The bulk of this goes to the fisheries of Nor- 
way. The Sicilians are also themselves expert fishermen, and 
their annual catch in Mediterranean waters is nearly five million 
dollars in value. 

Sicily contains ahout ten million orange, lemon and citron trees 
or two thirds of the entire number in all Italy. 

The Oranges grown on the sides of Mt. Etna are chiefly blood 
oranges. Hazel trees and almond trees are abundant about the 
island. 

The population are mostly all employed in the groves and 
vine country, a considerable number are employed in sulphur mines 
and a small proportion of the inhabitants are employed in trade. 
Of late years there has been a large immigration of laborers from 
Sicily, the principle cause being the disease which attacked the 
fruit trees and the playing out of some of the sulphur mines. 

Sicily since its beginning has been governed by nearly every 
nation at some time or other, and almost everyone of these numer- 
ous nations have left behind it some individuality which modified 
by the characteristics peculiar to the island have made a great 
many noticeable changes in art and sculptor on the island. 

The Italian language is spoken almost entirely throughout 
Sicily. 

The Sicilians have always manifested considerable capacity for 
philosophical research and are also known as admirable speakers, 
their chief study being the history of there own island, the poetry 
of its early days and the victories of her sons in many battles. 

The dress of the people of Sicily is made of many colored cloth, 
a shawl being used in cold weather. The women wear a handker- 
chief over their head and the men a soft felt hat. 

The cathedrals, museums and libraries of Sicily contain vast 
treasure of antiques and jewelry, sculptor, paintings and archi- 
tecture that are priceless. 

The cities contain beautiful public gardens and to these in- 
habitants journey every night to enjoy the music. 



The People op Sicily. 159 

The reader will be more interested in the city of Messina, 
Mount Etna and also the city of Eeggio, a short description of 
which follows. 

MESSINA. 

Located on the straits of the same name, with a splendid harbor, 
Messina has been in modern times only second to Palermo in point 
of commerce and population among Sicilian towns. Most of the 
vessels passing to the Suez Canal stop here. Its principal exports 
are oranges and lemons. The cathedral is magnificent ; begun by 
the Normans in 1098 ; since then enlarged and embellished by the 
Spaniards. It is 335 feet long by 135 feet wide. Earthquakes have 
destroyed the larger part of the famous edifices of Antiquity. The 
university is very prosperous, having an attendance of over 700. 
Nearly 11,000 vessels enter the port annually. Messina's popula- 
tion was upwards of 160,000. Besides citrus fruits, there is a 
brisk export of raisins, wine, liquorice, silks and linens. There 
is also a large trade in fish. Tunny and swordfish abound in the 
Mediterranean. The latter swarm through the straits in July and 
August and are speared in immense quantities. 

THE FAMOUS VOLCANO MT. ETNA. 

This is the loftiest fire mountain in Europe, and its peak is the 
highest elevation in all Italy. The highest cone is 10,840 feet above 
sea level. Fortunately for Sicily; the volcano stands near the east- 
ern coast (between Catania and Messina). Therefore only a small 
territory is seriously affected by its upheavals. The mountain is 
detached from other ranges, but is pock-marked on all its slopes 
with ancient craters and cones. It has a crater at the summit, 
which at times is three miles in circumference. Another feature 
for which the Sicilians are thankful, is a huge and awful chasm, 
called the Val di Bove. This is several miles wide, runs eastward 
from the crater at an elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. It is shut 
in like a canyon by precipices two to three thousand feet in height. 
Evidently the Val di Bove was once a crater of the mountain whose 
eastern rim has broken away, and it now serves the purpose of 



160 . The People of Sicily. 

conveying the lava flows eastward, away from the fertile country 
lying to the westward of the Volcano. Like Mauna Loa in Hawaii, 
Etna has formed bad hahits, and occasionally sends out fire rivers 
from rents in its lower flanks. One of these found its way into 
the very suburbs of Catania in 1669. 

On some of the slopes of the mountain there are dense forests. 
Above the timber line only scant and scrubby vegetation exists. 
The last 2,000 feet near the summit presents a frightful desert of 
several sq. miles of black and broken lava, scoria and volcanic land 
gashed by deep crevasses and canyons. In this region of death, fire 
and feast, not a particle of animal life is to be found. Etna is 
capped with snow during the winter months. The ascent to the 
summit is easily made from Catania in one day. 

In sharp contrast to the frightful desolation and chaos caused 
by frost and fire at the summit are the magnificent tropical 
orchards and luxuriant vegetation growing rampantly around the 
base of the mountain. Here flourish the richest orange, dive and 
lemon groves in all Italy. It is a fact, not often appreciated, that 
the porous rock and light cinders thrown from a volcano when 
once decomposed form the richest and most exuberant soil known 
to man. 

Etna has been famous from the earliest ages. To the G'reeks 
it was known as the prison of the giant Typhoeus. Eoman mythol- 
ogy placed in its bowels the laboratory where Vulcan, the god of 
fire, forged the thunderbolts of Jove. Its peak, shooting skyward 
through the clouds was a distant beacon from time immemorial, 
for the mariners of the Mediterranean, for they could often see 
the glow of its fires by night and a pillar of smoke by day. The 
tourist who mounts to the crater has a magnificent view of the 
island, the straits of Messina, and the mountains of Calabria, a 
vast panorama of scenes most famous in mythology, where for 
thousands of years, events have taken place that shaped the desti- 
nies of the world's mightiest empires. 

Authentic history records 80 eruptions from Mt. Etna. The 
most violent were those of B. C. 396—126—122. A. D. 1169—1329 
— 1537 — 1669. In the latter years 27,000 persons were made home- 




THE ITALIAN LAUNDRY SCENE BEFORE EARTHQUAKE. 

Clothes are washed away from the homes in places established for that purpose. 

Women are washing with their hands in the cement reservoirs 

which take the place of wash tubs. 




A HORSE, A COW AND A DONKEY HITCHED TOGETHER. 

A common sight in Sicily and Southern Italy. 




THE HAPPY ITALIANS BEPOBE THE CALAMITY. 
A Neapolitan peasant family taking a drive. 




A WINE CARRIER OF ITALY. 

The weather is hot. Notice the sun shade over the driver slanting toward the sun. 

The horse has protection over its head. The netting over the animal and 

hanging to his front feet protect him from the flies. A generous 

tail protects the hind legs. 



The People of Sicily. 163 

less and thousands of others swallowed up by the remorseless fire 
torrents. It was by this upheaval that Monti Rossi was thrown 
up forming one of the big cones of the volcano. In 1693 occurred 
the great catastrophe which compares with the present disaster. 
The earthquake, accompanied by a lava river annihilated 40 towns 
and overwhelmed 100,000 people. An erruption of Etna, (like 
those of Mauna Loa) takes place about once in ten or twenty 
years. In 1775 a violent outbreak occurred immediately after the 
great earthquake at Lisbon. 

REGGIO DI CALABRIA. 

This city has suffered equally with Messina. It stands on the 
opposite shore of the straits about seven miles to the southeast, 
in the "toe of the Italian boot," about 250 miles south of Naples. 
Before the present disaster, it had a jDOpulation of nearly 60,000. 
The climate is so mild that here the date palm sometimes ripens 
its fruit. The fruit orchards of Reggio and vicinity have been 
celebrated for centuries. It is an important manufacturing town, 
and has been a famous trading port for thousands of years. Silks, 
perfumes and essences; shoes, caps and byssus gloves are the 
manufactures for which Reggio is famous. A railroad running 
down the eastern coast of Italy has its terminus here, connected 
by a ferry to Messina, with the railroad system of Sicily. The 
island has now 1 ,000 miles of railroads. 

As the odd city was nearly destroyed by tHie eairthquake of 
1783, Reggio was quite modem in its arrangement and architec- 
ture. The principal avenues were broad, and ran north and south, 
while the cross streets ascended the steep hill from the quays. 

In the 8th century B. O. a colony of G-reeks settled here and 
called the city Rhegium. In 427 B. C. it was so powerful as to 
become an ally to Athens in her war with Syracuse. In 399 it 
made an attack on Syracuse under Dionysius, then one of the most 
powerful monarehs of the world. As a result, in 387 Reggio was 
destroyed and her citizens made slaves. Dionysius the younger 
restored the city to its former glory. During the invasion of 
Pyrrhus of Epirus, the city admitted a garrison of Roman soldiers 



164 The People op Sicily. 

for protection, but they revolted, massacred the townspeople, and 
held the city for 10 years as freebooters. Nor was it exempt from 
the invasions of the Goths of Northern Europe. In 410 A. D. it 
was captured by Alaric; in 549 A. D. by Titila; and by Robert 
Guiscard, the famous Norman fighter in 1060. It was at Reggio 
that Joseph Bonaparte was crowned king of Naples and Sicily. 
In 1860 it was taken from the Bourbon king by Garibaldi, and 
added to the kingdom of Italy. 

The beautiful cathedral of Reggio has twice been destroyed by 
earthquakes. There is a noble castle on the heights overlooking 
the straits. 

Probably no city has been captured and recaptured oftener 
than Reggio. For centuries she was the haunt of pirates and 
freebooters as was also Messina. 



CHAPTER Xn. 
MODERN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SICILY. 

Modern Historical Sketch of Sicily and Its Principal Cities and Towns — A 
Touch Upon Ancient History of Sicily. 

Probably no other segment of the World's Surface has played 
so conspicuous a part in the Drama of Nations, or passed through 
so many cataclysms of Nature, or been tossed about by the up- 
heavals of empires and ebullitions of religious and political strife 
as this long suffering and world famous Island. 

Like Canaan of old, it is and always has been, a land of Beulah, 
flowing with milk and honey; a land of corn and wine. Like the 
Holy Land also, it has from time immemorial sei^^ed as the common 
battle-ground of nations. It has been the threshold between the 
Orient and Occident, almost constantly baptized with fire, sword 
and human blood. Many times has it changed its religion. First, 
the idolatry of pagan Europe prevailed, then, successively, came 
the worship of Isis, of Ashtaroth, and other gods of Canaan. Then 
the beautiful mythology of Greece was accepted, only to be fol- 
lowed by the worship of the Roman Jupiter and Mars. Then came 
the Gospel of Christ, and Sicily was a devout See of the Church of 
Rome. The Saracens overran the Island with Southern Italy, and 
Moslem and Christian worshiped side by side for nearly 300 years ; 
the one kneeling with devotion to the Cross, and the other in adora- 
tion of the False Prophet. 

At times the glories of Sicily have bid fair to outshine the 
bright lights of other lands. Syracuse and Agrigentum were cen- 
tres of art, literature and philosophy ; of science and poetry. Their 
civilization eclipsed for a period the splendors of Rome, and vied 
in brilliancy with that of Athens and Corinth. Nor did the little 
island lack in political power. By judicious alliances with pro- 
vinces of the mother country, the Greek cities of Sicily held in their 
hands the political destinies of the Mediterranean commonwealths 
for hundreds of years. 

165 



166 MODEEN HiSTOEICAL SkETGH OF SiCILY. 

THE RISE OF THE GREEK COLONIES IN THE ISLAND. 

The ancient name of Sicily was Trinacria, so called probably 
from the three rocky promontories at the three corners of this tri- 
angular island. No other land is more closely woven into the 
mythology and early legends of 'the Greeks and Romans. From 
their traditions we learn that the island was first peopled by the 
Cyclops, a race of fierce Giants who descended from the gods. 
Homer also, in the Odyssey, tells some blood curdling things about 
the Laistrygones, another race of big men, the terror of the mariners 
who happened to become marooned on Sicily's coast. Polyphemus, 
who had but one eye, was accustomed to capture such unfortunates, 
fatten them up and roast them by im^paling each, one by one, on his 
huge iron spit. Ulysses escaped from him with his companions by 
heating the spit red hot and then suddenly boring out with it the 
giant's eye while he slept. Another race of giants, blacksmiths, 
were constantly at work in the crater of Stromboli, forging thun- 
derbolts for Zeus, under the direction of Vulcan. The famous 
deeds of Hercules have Sicily for a base. He drove away the Oxen 
of Geryones, across the straits of Messina, and was first worshipped 
as a god at Argj^rium where the great hoof prints of the O'xen may 
be seen in the rock. 

Another famous legend relates the rape of Persephone, when 
she was picking flowers by the banks of Lake Pagus. She sees a 
wonderful narcissus with a hundred heads, near the brink, and 
hastens to pluck it. Suddenly, Aidoneus, one of the gods of the 
lower world, comes up through a chasm near by, snatches the 
beautiful maid and carries her off in his chariot, that is drawn by 
shiny black steeds. In the plain, near Syracuse, the Nymph Kyana 
halts him, and demands that he let Persephone go free. Kyana is 
turned into the beautiful fountain bearing to this day her name, and 
Aidoneus carries away his prize to the nether world. Then 
Demeter, Persephone 's mother, wanders all over the world, search- 
ing for her. In the end Zeus settles the matter by proclaiming that 
Persephone shall spend half the year with Aidoneus as queen of 
the nether world and the other half (Spring and Summer) on the 



Modern Histobic.vl Sketch of Sicily. 167 

surface. She receives Sicily, as her wedding gift, and is restored 
to her goddess mother. 

The island was colonized in early days by the Sikels and Siculi, 
who came across the straits from Italy, and found a land of promise 
and eternal summer. But about the sixth and seventh century B. 
C. began a westward migration fr-om Greece, from the land of the 
Trojans in Asia Minor, and from Sidon and Tyre (Phoenicia). In 
Sicily they found an ideal resting place, and thither they trans- 
planted the culture, art and civilization of the Orient. From 
Euboea in Greece came Chalcidians, who founded Naxos about 735 
B. C. Then from Ionia came a brave colony who built Katana 
(Catania) and Leontini. About the same time Corinth sent out an 
ambitious band, and they built toward the southeast the famous and 
beautiful city of Syracuse, destined to become at one time the 
krgest and most powerful city of the world, whose high culture and 
science made her the mistress, for a time, of the whole west. At 
the northeast corner, on the straits of Messina rose the city of 
Zankle (now Messina). This also was founded by Chalcidians; 
but in olden times was frequently a nest of pirates and freebooters. 
All these cities were on the eastern coast. The reader should have 
a brief description of Syracuse. It was first built on the little island 
Ortygia. From this was built a bridge to the mainland and later a 
wide mole. South of Ortygia was the Great Harbor, almost land- 
locked, and north of it the Little Harbor. On the island was the 
fan^ous fountain Arethusa, whose waters often made a siege of 
the town futile. The major part of the city lay on the mainland, 
defended by rocky cliffs and several forts. 

On the north coast the Greeks built a city called Himera (now 
Termini). Then about 599 B. C. the Greeks from Crete and Rhodes 
laid the foundations of Akragas (Agrigentum, now Grigenti) on 
the southwest coast. This city had a great commerce with Africa 
and Carthage, and sometimes was more Phoenician than Greek, 
which led to many wars with Syracuse. When the island became 
well populated, the Greeks dominated the eastern half, the Sikels 
the interior, while the Phoenicians built and controlled at the west- 
ward end, Panormous (now Palermo), Eryx, Lilybceum, Selinous 
and Mazara. 



168 ■ MODEEN HiSTOKICAL SkETCH OF SiCILY. 

Thus m 140 years the Greeks peopled and built up the eastern 
and southern territory. They now controlled the Mediterranean 
Sea. But only a hundred miles away was rising at the same time, 
a mighty power, destined to shake to their very foundations all 
the nations of Southern Europe. This was the Phoenician City of 
Carthage. After centuries of war and dissensions, the Italian first 
settlers were gradually absorbed into the Greek commonwealths 
by conquest and intermarriage. 

WAHS WITH CAKTHAGE AND ATHENS. 

Now began a period of great prosperity. Several independent 
cities became not only powerful and populous, but vied with Corinth 
and Athens themselves in commerce and the arts of civilization. 
Their form of government was at first democratic. This gradually 
gave way as they became wealthy to the rule of the aristocrats, and 
they became oUgarcMes. On account of the growing power of Car- 
thage, and her alliance with the Phcenician cities of the west of 
Sicily, the Greek cities began to form coalitions among themselves. 
This gave opportunity to ambitious leaders to seize the reins of 
government and establish themselves as despots. These self-con- 
stituted monarchs, some of them good patriots to be sure, but the 
majority selfish and unscrupulous were called Tyrants. 

About this time the Persians of the east and the Carthaginians 
conspired together to attack the Greeks of the east and west simul- 
taneously. Persia was now the greatest empire (in extent) in the 
world, and had already taken possession of the Greek provinces 
in Asia Minor. Carthage was exceedingly jealous of the encroach- 
ments of the Greek cities in the island. At this time Theron was 
tyrant of Agrigentum and Gelon ruler in Syracuse. Theron made 
a raid and captured Himera on the north coast. This so enraged 
the Phoenicians of Sicily that they urged Carthage to come to their 
aid. She responded with much alacrity, knowing that Xerxes had 
now crossed the Hellespont into Old Greece and was pressing hard 
on Athens and Corinth. So, very suddenly, their war ships ap- 
peared at Panormous and landed a big army, including horses and 
chariots. Theron was most thoroughly alarmed, and sent word 



MoDERi^ Historical. Sketch of Sicily. 169 

posthaste to his friend at Syracuse. Immediately Gelon saw that 
the invader must be re^Dulsed or the whole of Sicily would be 
ravaged. So he set out with his full force across the island, and 
joined Theron. 

Now it happened that the commander of the Carthaginians was 
not a regular genera], but a magistrate, though a very able man. He 
was Hamilcar, quite noted in history. On his way Gelon had cap- 
tured a messenger mth letters from the city of Selinous. From 
him he learned that a squadron of horse was on the way to assist 
Hamilcar. At once he determined to take advantage of this. So 
on the morning of the day the horsemen were expected, he sent his 
own squadron to Hamilcar 's camp disguised as Phoenicians. They 
were at once admitted; but no sooner were they inside than they 
attacked the ships and set them on fire. Then Theron marched his 
men out suddenly, and attacked the camp on the other side. Both 
parties fought desperately all day. As Herodotus tells us, when 
Hamilcar, who was offering sacrifices to his gods during the battle, 
heard that his troops were in full retreat, he threw himself into the 
fire as the most costly offering he could make. This was very grand. 
The Carthaginian Diodorus version, however, relates that the sol- 
diers of Gelon caught Hamilcar and sacrificed him to their god 
Poseidon. At any rate it was a crushing and humiliating defeat and 
Carthage did not attempt a similar invasion again for seventy years. 

Strangely enough, the Greek hisitorians sa}'' the battle took place 
on the same day that Xerxes' gTcat fleet of warships was shattered 
by the Greeks at Salamis, near Athens. Xerxes, from the cliff 
above, beheld the disaster in terror and started in desperate haste 
to lead his migkty army, back over the Hellespont. The Greek sea 
fighters and Leonidas with his 300 Spartans at Thermopylss had 
struck terror to his heart. The Persian never came again. This 
Battle of Himera took place in 480 B. C. 

The Greek cities now entered upon what might be called the 
golden age of Sicily. They expelled the tyrants who for 18 years 
had held sway. Science, art and architecture made rapid strides. 
"V/e have in the island at this time the great poets and philosophers, 
Pindar, Simonides, Aeschylus and Epicharmus. For 50 years the 
island enjoyed the most unparalleled prosperity. Their commerce 



170 MODEEN HiSTOEICAl. SkETCH OF SiCILY. 

grew with Egypt, Rome, Carthage and Old Greece. Magnificent 
temples, theatres, amphitheatres and otheT public buildings which 
compel the admiration of the whole world, besides the palaces of 
the rich, were built in every chief city. The beautiful temple of 
Athene in Syracuse, built then, is now the Metropolitan Church. 
There seemed now to be only one cloud in the sky and that was 
Athens, then the most civilized and most magnificent city of the 
world. She was jealous of the ra^oiid strides being made by Syra- 
cuse, and gradually made the determination to add to herself this 
gem of the sea which was fast becoming the dictator and the nabob 
of the Mediterranean. It was during this period that the great 
orator and scholar, Gorgias of Leontini flourished. He established 
schools of rhetoric both in Sicily and in Old Greece. 

Syracuse was now preparing to take possession for herself of 
the cities of Ehegium and Leontini, and they, as allies of Athens, 
sent Gorgias to that city to secure her aid. So eloquent and persua- 
sive was he, that the Athenians now made up their minds to begin 
the work of invasion, and sent a few war shijDS to Leontini. Gradu- 
ally the Sicilian towns took sides, and the cities of Old Greece 
formed themselves into two leagues, one led by the Athenians and 
the other by the Spartans. About this time Syracuse took advantage 
of a dissension in Leontini, and annexed the city to herself. Athens 
sent envoys to S'egesta, one of the Sicilian cities allied against Syra- 
cuse. They saw in the temple of Eryx a great number of silver 
gilt vessels, which the Segestans told them were solid gold. They 
also attended many banquets, given by private citizens, at which 
they were astonished at the wealth of golden vessels and treasure 
each possessed. But the wily Segestans were loaning these golden 
vessels among each other, and really possessed only one set. So 
the envoys returned to Athens with Arabian Nights like stories 
of the fabulous treasures of Sicily, and set all Athens on fire with 
enthusiasm at the prospect of capturing an island where existed 
such vast wealth. Their leader was the famous Alcibiades, a most 
dangerous counselor; for he was brave, eloquent and enter- 
prising, but utterly unprincipled and supremely selfish and fickle. 
He urged an expedition, but Nicias the general of the anny, a very 
conseivative man, opposed it. But Alcibiades prevailed, and was 



MoDEEN Historical Sketch of Sicily, 171 

sent with Nicias in command of the greatest fleet that ever sailed 
from a Grecian port, 13G battleships and about 7,000 troops. But 
they did not find the prospect so rosy after arrival at Sicily. The 
formidable size of the fleet scared the Greeks of Sicily, and they 
held back from alh^ing themselves against Syracuse. Nicias sailed 
all along the east and south coasts without gaining many friends 
and then went into winter quarters at Katana (now Catania). 
Alcibiades was summoned home on the famous charge of impiety to 
the gods (for disfiguring the statues of Hermes). He then ran away 
and hid himself in Sparta. The great leader at Syracuse was 
Plermocrates. His diplomacy kej^t the Greeks of Sicily together, 
and he proved himself one of the greatest statesmen the island ever 
had. While Nicias was waiting for something to turn up, Hermoc- 
rates was building fortifications and disciiDlining his army. This 
was the winter of 415-414 B. C. 

Nicias appealed to Athens for more men, ships and money, and 
a second expedition was sent to him. There was a rocky height 
above Syracuse, called Epipolai, and this Nicias took by sudden 
storm. Then he built a wall across to hem the city in and the Syra- 
cusans built a counter wall to keep the Athenians out. The reader 
should bear in mind that in its greatest days Syracuse was nearly 
twenty miles in circumference. So desperate had become the siege, 
that the Syracusans were on the point of surrender, when there 
sailed into the Little Harbor a ship from Corinth with news that a 
fleet was on the way to bring succor from that city ; and Gylippus 
the general was already collecting a land force among the Greek 
cities of Sicily to attack the Athenians. 

It was the darkest hour in which this deliverance had come, and 
instantly all Syracuse was filled again with hope. "When Gylippus 
arrived, he forced Ms way into the city around Nicias' incomplete 
wall. He was a Spartan and so much faith was placed in a country- 
man of the 300 who fought at Thermopylae, that he was made com- 
mander-in-chief, and before long had a wall built, which hemmed 
in the Athenian camp next to the Great Harbor. Nicias now wrote 
to Athens asking to be relieved and advising either to abandon the 
siege, or send another army, and sure enough, another army was 
sent. While they were on the way Gylipjpus attacked the Athenians 



172 MoDEEi^ HiSTOEicAL Skstoh of Sicily. 

both by sea and land. Success for the Syracnsans now seemed 
sure, when the new Athenian fleet sailed into the Great Harbor and 
again the tables were turned. 

The new general Demosthenes now made a night attack on the 
heights back of the city from the north. They took two forts, when 
suddenly the Syracusans got hold of the watchword, and made 
such good use of it that the Athenians could not tell friend from 
foe and were thrown into terrible confusion. Some were hurled 
over the precipice; others who were ignorant of the precipitous 
pathways back to the camp were captured at daybreak. 

The generals now proposed to return to Athens; but Nicias 
would not consent. At this moment there was an eclipse of the moon 
and Nicias persuaded his fellows that it portended great calamity 
to Syracuse. Few in those days knew what caused an eclipse. The 
soothsayers advised that they must stay another 29 days. At last 
the final struggle took place in the Great Harbor, within which the 
Athenian fleet was blockaded by the Syracusans. There were 110 
Athenian battleships against 80 of those of Syracuse. All day 
long the struggle of life and death went on. It was the death 
grapple of the world's two most powerful cities. Toward night the 
Athenians gave way and retreated to their camp on shore. Their 
invasion was over, and their proud fleet captured. 

There were still 40,000 men in the camp and they retreated into 
the interior but were in a few days either captured or scattered. It 
is said that the generals committed suicide, rather than be taken 
prisoners. 

THE SECOND CAETHAGINIAN INVASION, 413-404 B. C. 

Seventy years after the first victory of Gelon over Carthage 
at Himera, the Carthaginians again invaded Sicily. This time 
they were led by the great general Shophet Hannibal, the grandson 
of Hamilcar, who was defeated so ignominiously at Himera. He 
landed at Lilybteum with a vast army, marched upon Selinous and 
took it almost before Sicily was aware of his presence. The citizens 
were massacred and the city sacked. Then Hannibal started north- 
ward across the island for Himera. Before he reached that town, 



MoDEEN Historical Sketch of Sicily. 173 

5,000 men-at-amis under Diokles arrived to succor it from Syra- 
cuse. They met Hannibal under the walls and an indecisive 
battle took place. Just then a Sikelite fleet appeared off the harhor, 
•and Hannibal announced that he would abandon the siege and sail 
straight for Syracuse. This alarmed Diokles and he made ar- 
rangements by which the people of Hiinera could escape by boat 
to Messina, while he himself returned to i>rotect Syracuse. Hanni- 
bal's trick succeeded. Before half the people had left the city he 
broke into it, burned the temples and laid all else in ruins. Then 
he made slaves of the women and children, and took 3,000 men to 
the spot where his grandfather Hamilcar had died, tortured and 
offered them up as a sacrifice to the ghost of Hamilcar. At Seli- 
nous today there are magnificent ruins, but of Himera there is 
hardly one stone left to mark its locality. This done, Hannibal 
returned to Carthage, where he was greatly honored for this hor- 
rible deed. 

And now all Sicily knew that a great invasion from Carthage 
was at hand, and it was not long delayed. The Greek cities hastened 
to prepare for it. Hannibal was sent with an army to lay siege to 
Agrigentum. The expedition it is said comprised 1,000 ships of 
all kinds, and 100,000 men. The plague attacked the army and 
Hannibal died in camp. Hamiloon who succeeded him in command 
sacrificed his own son to Moloch. Thirty thousand men marched 
from Syracuse and other cities to succor the city. Dissensions 
broke out between them and the leaders in the city and they 
marched back, leaving the proud city to its fate. The citizens de- 
serted the town and Hamilcon plundered it. 

This juncture produced a man most famous in history, namely 
Dionysius the Tyrant. He began his rule at Syracuse in 405 B. C. 
when a fearless and strong man was needed to check the aggres- 
sion of Carthage. Agrigentum the second city of Sicily had fallen, 

Dionysius played into his own hands with great skill, and 
shrewdly made friends of the common people. In order to build 
up Syracuse, as soon as he was appointed general he marched 
against Hamiloon, and then persuaded each city of the southern 
coast to send its inhabitants to Syracuse, because he told them that 
was the only city that could withstand such a huge invasion. But 



174 MODEEN HiSTOEICAL S KETCH OF SiCILY. 

when lie liimself returned to Syracuse lie found the gates shut 
against him. He burned one of them down and after entering, put 
to death his chief personal enemies. 

The treaty which he made with Hamilcon was a remarkably 
shrewd one, for Dionysius. It made the south coast ci'ties Cartha- 
ginian, the other Greek cities independent. But Carthage agreed to 
give Dionysius a guarmity of his- own dominion over Syracuse. 
In securing this the wily despot expected to establish himself so 
firmly with the help of Carthage, that in the end he could easily 
win back all that the Greek cities had lost. He ruled for 38 years 
and accomplished what he had set out to gain. 

No war was ever more destructive to human freedom and civili- 
zation, for the loss of liberty and territory turned the attention of 
the people from arts and commerce to the practice of war, and an 
ambition for dominion and conquest. Under him Syracuse became 
the world's most powerful and renowned city of his age. 

To establish himself the more impregnably, Dionysius built the 
whole island of Ortygia into a fortress, and he himself lived in a 
castle at its end. With marveloois rapidity he extended the walls of 
Syracuse and soon the city was an umoonquerabile castle of itself. 
Then he gathered meroenaries from all parts of the Mediterranean, 
chiefly from Italy, and placed them as guards in the forts and de- 
pendent cities. When a revolt occurred in any locality he removed 
the disaffected population to another city and gave their place to 
colonist strangers from a distance. Meanwhile he was constantly 
gaining the good will, not of the oligarchs (or aristocrats) but of 
the common people. 

It was in the memorable year of 387 B. C. that Dionysius made 
himself the master not only in all Sicily but in Greek Italy also, by 
taking Ehegium (now Eeggio). He became the ally of Sparta and 
by means of his mercenary armies secured a vast power and influ- 
ence among the western and northern nations. He built larger war 
vessels and improved greatly the engines of war and military tac- 
tics. Prom his example, Alexander the Great learned those prin- 
ciples of union and military concentration which made him later 
the master of the world. Under Dionysius, however, Sicily was 



MODEKN HiSTOKICAJj SkETCH OF SiCILY. 175 

racked with wars both internal and with Carthage. He even made 
expeditions against the nations on the Adriatic sea,. 

At the height of its glory Syracuse was a city of 500,000 popu- 
lation or about the present size of Boston. Its circumference was 
nearly 22 miles. For ten years after Dionj-sius' death his son 
Dio>nysius the younger continued master of Syracuse. Then a de- 
liverer, Timoleon of Corinth came to the rescue. He drove out the 
tyrants from the cities of the island, compelled Carthage to agTee 
to a peace and restored the cities to independence. 

So far Rome has hardly entered into the history of Sicily, as 
she was still a second rate power. But now she cast her eyes south- 
ward, and determined on the possession of the beautiful island. 
In 270 B. C. 'the master of Syracuse was Hieron, a statesman of 
great judgment. He made war against Messina and Rhegium, 
then controlled by a colony of pirates and freebooters. These two 
cities made an alliance with Rome, and Hieron at first made an 
alliance with Carthage. In the second year of -the war (263 B. C.) 
he found himself so hard pressed that he changed sides and entered 
into an alliance with this great rising city of the north. This 
alliance marks the doivnfaU of Greek supremacy. But the king- 
dom of Sicily under this alliance flourished commercially as never 
it had flourished before. After the first Punic war, which lasted 
23 years, Carthage abandoned Sicily, but the Romans ruled the 
captured towns with a rod of iron. But Hieron remained a faith- 
ful ally to that city until his death. Under his son Hieronymus, 
Syracuse revolted from Rome, but it was recaptured by the Consul 
Marcellus. Sicily now becomes a Roman province. Her fields are 
tilled by the slaves of the ridi. Their masters naturally degene- 
rated from the liberty loving Greek to the proud and pampered 
Roman patrician. 

ARCHIMEDES OF SYRACUSE. 

Akchimedes, the greatest scientist of Sicily, was probably the 
greatest man of his age. We do not know all that he did, but we 
do know that as a scientist and discoverer his achievements were 
as important as those of Edison or Robert Fulton. His greatest 
triumph was connected with the principles of specific gravity. 



176 MoDEKN Historical Sketch of Sicily. 

Hiero the Tyrant of Syracuse bade him discover, without their re- 
moval, whether the gems in his crown were genuine or imitations. 
After many unsuccessful experiments, it suddenly occurred to 
Archimedes that the problem could be solved by a comparison of 
the weight of the crown with that of the water it displaced when 
immersed. This brilliant discovery so overjoyed him that, though 
taking a bath at the moment, he rushed through the streets without 
his garments, crying ''Eureka!" (I have found it!) Besides this 
he made many discoveries in geometry, mathematics and engineer- 
ing. 

An'other of his triumphs Was the building of a m.a.gnificent ship 
as a present for Ptolemy, King of Egypt. This was said to be of 
4,000 tons burden, with 20 banks of oars. It had 3 decks. On the 
upper one stood catapults that could launch rocks, like cannon 
balls, and heavy wooden projectiles 20 feet long. It was a magnifi- 
cent floating palace, as well as a powerful battleship , and even con- 
tained a miniature temple to Venus, and a marble bath. 

The fate of Archimedes is touching. While Marcellus was 
sacking the city, he sent a soldier to find the great scientist, intend- 
ing to take him to Eome. The grand old man, when found, was en- 
deavoring to drown his grief in a deep problem of geometry. The 
brutal soldier stepped on the figure drawn in the sand, and when 
the great engineer expostulated, he impaled him with his spear and 
killed the greatest man in the world. 

When Eome sent Marcellus to capture Syracuse, Archimedes 
was the man who planned the defence. Marcellus had many newly 
invented engines for attack, but the ingenuity of Archimedes de- 
vised new weapons and machinery that foiled every effort to scale 
the walls. It was said that by throwing sunlight through a combi- 
nation of mirrors and lenses, he set fire to the Eoman battleships 
as they lay in the Great Harbor. 

Another great man of Sicily was the poet Pindar. Then the 
sweetest of all the world's poet-songsters was Theocritus, made 
famous by his glorious songs of countr}^ and pastoral life. Not far 
behind him were the poets, Moschus and Bion of Syracuse. Then 
in Agrigentum Empedocles was in his day peerless as a philos- 
opher. 



Modern Historical Sketch of Sicily. 177 

SICILY IN MEDIEVAL TIMES. 

After becoming a Eoman province, tiie gloiy wliicli Sicily had 
attained with her independent Greek cities i3assed away. We give 
a brief summary of events to enable the reader to cross the bridge 
intelligently to another period of glory which we believe has 
dawned on the Island, since Garibaldi freed her from the Bour- 
bons, and the load has been illuminated by the light of education. 
From the second century B. C. imtil the fifth century A. D. little 
occurs of much interest. 

In the year 219 B. C. came the second Punic war. Instead of 
invasion as usual through Sicily Hannibal determined to capture 
Rome by allying himself VN^ith the savage hordes of Gaul. To this 
end he took Saguntum, a Greek city in Spain. Then with an im- 
mense army and huge battalions of cavalry and elephants of war, 
he crossed the Pyrenees, skirted the shores of France, and descend- 
ed over the Alps into Italy. Some of the Gauls joined him. Then 
came the terrible battles of the Ticinus river, Thras^mine and 
Cannae. These were dark days for Eome. Hiero ravaged the 
coasts of Africa, and sent to Eome many shiploads of grain, an 
army of slingers and archers, together with a golden Statue of Vic- 
tory lueighing 320 pounds. This famous invasion of Italy was a 
failure, because Hannibal, though the world's greatest strategist, 
was outgeneraled by Fabius, who wasted the Carthaginian army 
without fighting it. In after years, Scipio Africanus made a coun- 
ter invasion and utterly destroyed the power of Carthage forever. 

SICILY UNDER THE EOMANS, GOTHS AND SAEACENS. 

With the capture of Syracuse by the Eomans under Marcellus 
(212 B. C), ended the independence of the Greeks in Sicily. The 
island was the first province which Eome added to herself, and 
Sicily may thus be called the corner stone of her mighty empire. 
From this time forward that empire grew rapidly until, at the ad- 
vent of Christ, Eome had reached the summit of her power, and 
^as mistress of the whole civilized world. It is regarded by many 
historians as a singular fact, that these two gTcatest events took 
place simultaneously. 



178 MODEKN HiSTOEICAL SkETCH OF SiCILY. 

Between 135 and 100 B. C. there were two great slave revolts in 
the island, showing how vast a number of bondmen had been cap- 
tured and brought here from Rome's conquests to till the corn 
lands. 

In 73 B. C. so oppressive was Verres, the Praetor (Governor) 
toward the Sicilians that he was tried by the senate for his rapacity 
and extortions and exposed by the great oration which made Cicero 
so famous among orators. In B. C. 43, S'extus Pompeius seized 
the island with Rome's navy, of which he was sole commander, and 
held it against Rome for seven years; not as governor, but as a 
freebooter and a pirate. 

It was in the latter part of the first century that St. Paul the 
Apostle made a sojourn at Syracuse of three days on his way to 
R.ome as recorded in Acts 28 :12. Christianity spread over the island 
in the third century. There is a very old church in Syracuse^ — St. 
Marcien — and tradition tells us that Paul preached in this at the 
invitation of the bishop, Marcien. A small round church at Ca- 
tonia is also shown as one which St. Peter consecrated when visit- 
ing Sicily from Rome. There were many martyr saints of Sicily, 
and the early Christians were compelled to worship in the cata- 
combs of the cities and the grottoes of the mountains. There was 
joy throughout Europe and Christian Asia when the great em- 
peror Constantine gave his sanction to the Church of Christ. 

It was at this period that the Goths, Vandals and Ostragoths 
swept with their hordes over Southern Europe. In 440 the Ostra- 
goths landed at Palermo under Geiseric. They held the island' for 
nearly 100 years. The Roman Empire was now governed from 
Byzontium (Constantinople) as the western half of the empire was 
in the hands of the Goths and Vandals. 

About the year 527 the great Justinian became Emperor. He 
sent the famous General Belisarius to Sicily, who recaptured the 
island. He drove the Visgoths out of Palermo by hoisting boats to 
the tops of the tall mastheads of his ships, whence his archers shot 
at the garrison over the low ramparts with their crossbows. Then 
Belisarius captured Rome from the Goths but was recalled to Con- 
stantinople and disgraced by Justinian. Rome was lost and re- 
taken by the Goths many times, and their General Totilo recap- 




THE BROTHERHOOD OF NATIONS. 

British sailors from the "Afonwen" making a heroic rescue. The children on a tottering 

balcony were persuaded to let down a cord, tied to a stone, and were thus able 

to pull a rope to the top of the building and fasten it there. Then two 

of the men went up hand over hand, mounted the balcony 

and lowered ten children to safety, together 

with a woman and a man. 




A ROYAL RESCUER. 

King Victor Emmanuel of Italy rescuing a victim pinned down by the wreckage.. The 

devotion of this ruler to his stricken people won the hearts of all. 



Modern Histoeical Sketch of Sicily. 181 

tured Sicily and ravaged it. It was a reigii of terror in wliieh tlie 
Gotlis carried off the herds of tlie peasants and all the portable 
wealth of the cities to his strong fortresses in Italy. 

In 663 Constans II removed from Constantinople to Syracuse. 
So for several years that city was the head of the world's greatest 
empire. In 669 Syracuse was plundered by an invasion of the 
Arabians. In 830 Palermo was taken by the Saracens and by 873 
the whole island, including Syracuse was oontrolled by them. It is 
a fact not to be denied that Sicily, in the early days of the Papacy 
was for good reason called the ''Asylmn and Paradise of the 
Church of Rome," for she held large estates and many rich monas- 
teries in the island, and the mother of Vope Gregory the Great 
(sixth century), was a Sicilian of great wealth. Contemporary 
with Pope Gregory was the False Prophet Mahomet of Mecca, 
twenty years old when Gregory was elected Pope. Two hundred 
years later the Mohammedans ruled all Sicily but so deeply had 
Christianity taken root that the Moslem was compelled not only to 
tolerate it, but to hold inviolate Church properties. 

It was in the eighth century that the War of the Tinages took 
place in Italy, and Leo, Emperor of the East and AVest Empires, 
sent an amiy from Constantinople into Italy, to comi>el the pope to 
abolish holy images from all the churches. All Italy and a part 
of Sicily rallied to the defence of the Po^oe, Gregory the Second. 
Several of the Bishops of Sicily were martyred for their adher- 
auce to Gregory. Methodius of Syracuse, was imprisoned seven 
years, but in the end became Patriarch of Coiistantino'ple. It was 
at this, period that tlie Greek Church broke away and became in- 
dependent of the Roman Catholic and it was a Bishop of Sicily, 
Gregorius Abesta, who was the original cause of the difference. 

NORMANS IN SICILY. 

Probably there never were braver fighters in the history of 
the world than the Normans, who made conquest and war a pro- 
fession. Robert and Roger of Hauteville, were sons of Tancred 
the mighty champion of the first Crusaders. They cam.e to Italy 
by invitation of their brothers, who had taken Apalia. In ten 



182 MODEEN HiSTOEICAL SkETCH OF SiCILY. 

years (1090) they had subdued the island of Sicily. The Son of 
Roger was crowned at Palermo in 1130 as King of Sicily. Under 
his reign, which was very liberal to several conflicting nationalities 
and religions of Sicily, there was great prosperity in the island. 
The Normans controlled the island for nearly 200 years and under 
them there was a great advance in art, literature and science. King 
Roger himself was a marvelous leader. His Saracen subjects were 
loyal to him and after submitting to him even fought for him at 
times against the Moslem. 

From the time of the Normans in Sicily, there is a most be- 
wildering series of changes in the masters of the island until 1860 
when the patriot Garibaldi captured Naples and Sicily from the 
Bourbons, and restored them to the Kingdom of Rome under Victor 
Emanuel. At one time it belongs to the Spanish house of Arragon. 
Then it is ruled by a French princess, then reverts to Spain, be- 
comes a part of the kingdom of Naples, Sicily and Arragon under 
Rene of Anjou. At one time it is a part of the realm of Charles V. 
of Germany and ever Great Britain held a protectorate over the 
island in the early part of the i9th century. 



CHAPTER Xin. 
AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES. 

The American Embassy at Rome — The American Consulates in Italy and Sicily 
— The Italian Embassy at Washington. 

The Americaa Embassy at Rome is in cliarge of Ambassador 
Griscom. Mr. Griscom is a native of Pennsylvania, his residence 
being at Philadelphia. His family is very wealthy. Mr. Griscom 
seized as Secretary of American Legations and Embassies at dif- 
ferent capitals in foreign countries, in the beginning of his diplo- 
matic career. His first appointment as Ambassador was at Tokio, 
in Japan, where he served our country with distinction. Mr. Gris- 
com was transf en-ed from Japan to Rome as our Ambassador there, 
in succession to George Von Meyer, who was appointed Postmaster 
General and thus became a member of President Roosevelt's 
cabinet. 

AmbassadyDr Griscom arose to the exigencies of the situation 
presented by the Sicilian-Italian earthquake disaster and gained 
world-wide distinction as one of the principal figures in the relief 
measures promptly set on foot by the United States government. 

The United States government maintains embassies at London, 
Paris, Tokio, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, St. Petersburg, and 
Constantinople, as well as at Rome, making nine embassies in all. 
At Buenos Aires, Brussels, La Paz, Santiago de Chile, Pekin, 
Bogota, San Jose, Havana, Copenhagen, Port au Prince, Quito, 
Athens, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Monrovia, Mexico, Tangier, 
The Hague, Christiana, Montevideo, Teheran, Lima, Lisbon, Rou- 
mania and Siervia, Bangkok, Miadrid, Stockholm and Caracas, as 
well as a diplomatic agent at Cairo, Eigypt, making in all thirty 
legations and one diplomatic agent. 

An Ambassador ranks higher and has more power when repre- 
senting his government, than a Minister. These diplomatic offi- 
cers, in the performance of their duties, carry on the negotiations 
between their government and the country to which they are 

183 



184 Ameeican Repeesentatives. 

accredited as regards treaties and many matters pertaining to 
diplomacy. They have the power to issne passports to American 
citizens traveling or residing abroad, and in case of trouble, it 
is their dnty to protect an American citizen and American inter- 
ests. A Consul-General or Consnl of the United States does not 
carry on negotiations directly with the conntry to which he is ac- 
credited, but does this through the Embassy or legation at the capi- 
tal of the country to which he is accredited. An American citizen 
getting into any kind of difficulty in a consular district abroad, 
would take the matter up with the American Consul-General or 
American Consul nearest to him. The American Consular Officer 
would then take it up with the Embassy or Legation of the United 
States at the capital of that foreign country. 

The duties of American Consuls-General and Consuls are rather 
commercial than diplomatic. They are sent abroad at centers 
where goods ai"e produced to be shipped and sold into the United 
States. All such goods consigned to the United States must be 
invoiced before a United S'tates Consular officer. The exporter 
of such goods makes declaration as to the value of the goods so 
that the duty may be determined and paid at our ports. Notwith- 
standing this decla,ration as to the value of the goods shipped, 
made before the United States Consul, the goods are subjected to 
appraisement before the appraisers, under the Collector of Cus- 
toms, at each port in the United States, where the ships carrying 
tliese goods to our country land. 

United States Consuls are also instructed to investigate the 
commercial conditions in the country, or district, to which they are 
accredited, with a particular view to increasing the trade of the 
United States, so that we can sell more goods abroad. That is why 
our manufacturers and business men throughout the United States 
have such a great interest in an efficient and adequately paid con- 
sular service. At the present time none of our diplomatic or con- 
sular officers, who perform their duties properly, can live upon the 
veiy niggardly salaries provided by the United States Congress. 

The Department of State appointed Mr. James E. Dunning, the 
United States Consul at Milan, Italy, to be acting consul at Mes- 
sina, after the death of Consul Cheney, who lost his life, as noted 



American- Repeesentatives. 185 

in another chapter, in the earthquate disaster. Mr. Dunning acted 
under the direction of Ambassador Griscom at Borne, in the work 
of rescue and the distribution of supplies sent by the United States 
Grovernment and accepted by the Italian Govemnient. 

The United States has two consulates in Sicily at Palermo and 
Messina, and ten in Italy, as follows : Castellaimare di Stabia, Ca- 
tania, Florence, Genoa (the Consulate-General was changed from 
Rome to Genoa July 1st, 1908), Leghorn, Milan, Naples, Rome, 
Turin and Venice. 

United States Ambassadors, Ministers, Consuls-General, and 
Consuls are all appointed by the President of the United States 
and must be confirmed by the United States Senate. Upon reach- 
ing their diplomatic or consular posts, they must secure ah exequa- 
tur, or anth'ority to axit, from tOie Grovernment to which they are 
accredited. 

Italy has an Embassy at Washington in charge of Signor Ed- 
mondo M. des Planches, who has been tlie Italian diplomatic rep- 
resentative at Washingion for a number of years. He is now the 
Dean (the oldest member), of the Diplomatic Coi-^ds at our Nation- 
al Capital. Thirty-eight countries in all have either Embassies or 
Legations (their Ambassadors or Ministers presiding over them) 
at Washington. 

Ambassador des Planches, at Washing'ton, carried on the ne- 
gotiations with our State Department and at the Wliite House, re- 
garding the United States relief expedition sent to Italy for the sur- 
vivors of the earthquake and regarding the visit to Italy of the 
United States Naval fleet, which at the time of the catastrophe, 
was just entering the Suez Canal en rente to Italy. As noted in 
another chapter, the mission of our great fleet was changed from 
one of friendliness in a social way to a visit of friendship in a char- 
itable way. 

During the social season at Washington, after the sad calamity 
which had befallen Italy, Ambassador des Planches modified all of 
the social engagements of the Embassy for the winter. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
ITALY AND UNITED STATES. 

Commerce Between Italy and the United States — Imports and Exports — Emigra- 
tion in Past Ten Years, etc. 

Tlie commerce between Italy and the United States is very 
great. The United States, however, sells more goods to Italy in 
value, than Italy sells to the United States. In 1906, the latest com- 
plete figures available, we sold to Italy about seven million five 
hundred thousand dollars more of our products than Italy brought 
into our country. 

The total value of the exports from Italy to the United States, 
in the year named was $40,597,556. The United States exported to 
Italy goods that brought into our country $48,083,740 in money. 
The chief articles of commerce sent to Italy from the United States 
are cotton, grain and other food products, timber, machinery, cop- 
per and iron. Italy sends to us silk, both raw and manufactured, 
fruits, wine, etc. 

There are two regular Italian steamship lines that ply between 
Genoa, Naples and New York, besides many freight carrying steam- 
ers. Nearly all of the principal Trans-Atlantic lines conduct an 
up-to-date passenger service, during the winter months, between 
New York, Boston and the Italian ports named, for the benefit of 
the thousands of American tourists who visit Italy each winter. 
These steamers carry freight also. The Americans who visit Italy 
each year spend millions' of dollars in that country. This has re- 
sulted in building up industries in Italy for the manufacture and 
sale of curios and all sorts of portable articles, characteristic of the 
kingdom, for sale to the Americans, who always return home with 
a plentiful supply of souvenirs for their friends left at home. To 
say that the American visitor, with money to spend in Italy, is wel- 
comed by the populace there, is to express it but mildly. 

An enormous sum of money, in the aggregate, is sent from the 

186 



Italy and United States. 187 

United States each year by the industrious Italians, who have set- 
tled in this country. This money is sent to relatives, who had 
never before been in possession of so much money. With this con- 
stant stream of money pouring in and the freedom with which the 
American visitor spends money, while traveling in Italy, the idea 
among Italians has become deeply rooted, that every American 
must be rich. 

It is estimated that New York City and its environments has 
close to a half million Italian inhabitants. Following are the num- 
ber of Italians living in the cities named according to the census 
of 1900 : Baltimore, 2,042 ; Boston, 13,738 ; Buffalo, 5,669 ; Chicago, 
16,008 ; Cincinnati, 917 ; Cleveland, 3,065 ; Detroit, 905 ; Milwaukee, 
726; New Orleans, 5,866 ; Philadelphia, 17,830; Pittsburg, 5,709; St. 
Louis, 2,227 ; San Francisco, 7,508. The total Italian population of 
the United States, according to the last census, was 1,190,301. It 
will be seen that New York City and its suburbs contain more than 
one-third of this total. There are five Irish bom inhabitants living 
in the United States for each Italian. The total Irish population, 
foreign born, was 1,673,409 ; born of Irish parents 4,001,461, or a 
total of 5,620,900 Irish all told. This is more than the population 
of Ireland. There are about three times as many Italians living in 
the United States as we have Indians. 

The emigration from Italy during the last census period of ten 
years, was very great. During the great financial depression of 
the fall of 1907, tens of thousands of men in our large centers of 
population were thrown out of employment. This affected the 
Italians very greatly. Owing to the higher cost of living in the 
United States, as compared with Italy, large numbers of Italians 
crowded the steamships bound for Italy, where they could live 
upon their accumulated savings and make their money last longer 
than if they remained in the United States without employment. 
This resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being withdrawn 
from our savings banks and taken to Italy. 

For a time the steamships that formerly carried from five 
hundred to two thousand emigrants in the third class from Italy 
and other foreign countries brought very few into our country. 
The tide of emigration had set in in the other direction. The third 



188 Italy and United States. 

classj lieretoiOTe practically empty in the steamships bound to 
Europe from our ports, were crowded with Italians and others, 
returning to their old homes to seek shelter in the small homes of 
parents and relatives. 

It is noteworthy, however, that many of the more prosperous 
of these returning Italians, who came to America in the steerage 
or third class, were now traveling in the second class cabin, owing 
to the prosperity they had enjoyed in the United States. 

We are apt to class the Italians with those we see acting in our 
country as fruit vendors, boot blacks and hand organ men, and 
therefore consider the Italians an inferioT class. This is not just 
to the Italians, as a whole. Naturally, the vast majority of those 
who come to our shores are of the peasant class, with no social or 
other standing at home. While we have many cultured Italians of 
the highest intelligence living in our country, it is true that the 
most prosperous of the Kingdom have no reason for leaving their 
own country. In our every day life, in the United States, we do 
not come into contact with the better class of Italians, as we do with 
the peddlers who have something to sell us, to shine our boots or 
to get a few pennies for playing the hand organ. In the same 
way, we are prone in America to do all foreigners coming to our 
country, an injustice. 

It is when we, ourselves, either visit or live in a foreign country 
that the word ''foreigner" has an entirely different shade of 
meaning from what we are accustomed to give it when we are at 
home. When we land in Italy, we are ''foreigners." 



CHAPTER XV. 
ITALY. 

Historical Sketch, of Italy — Its Language, Art and Music — Paintings and 
Sculpture. 

Italy, or more correctly Italia, is the name that has been ap- 
plied in ancient and modem times to the great peninsula that pro- 
jects from the mass of central Em^ope far to the south into the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

Sicily may be considered as a mere continuation or appendage 
of the continental promontory. Italy's greatest length is from 
northwest to southeast, in which direction it measures 718 English 
miles. 

The peninsula of Italy, which forms the largest portion of the 
country, nowhere exceeds 130 miles in breadth, while it does not 
generally measure from 90 to 100 miles across. The southern ex- 
tremity of the peninsula is called Calabria. 

The area of the present kingdom, exclusive of the large islands, 
is 93,640 square miles, or not quite so large as the State of Colora- 
do. The total population being about 33,000,000, it will be seen that 
the density of population per square mile, is very large. 

THE TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS. 

The kingdom is divided into the following sixteen comparti- 
menti. These compartimenti are subdivided into 69 provinces. 

1. Piedmont: Alessandria, Cuneo, Novara, Turin. 

2. Liguria: Genoa, Porto Maurizio. 

3. Lombardy: Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantua, 
Milan, Pavia, Sondrio. 

4. Venice: Belluno, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Udine, Venice, 
Verona, Vicenza. 

5. Emilia : Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, Modena, Parma, Piacen- 
za, Eavenna, Reggio. 

6. Umbria : Perguia. 

189 



190 Italy. 

7. Marclies: Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata, Pesaro-Ur- 

bino. 

8. Tuscany: Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Leghorn, Lucca, 

Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Siena. 

9. Latium : E-ome. 

10. Abruzzi and Molise : Aquila, Campobasso, CMeti, Teramo. 

11. Campania: Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples, Saler- 
no. 

12. Aputia: Bari, Foggia, Lecce. 

13. Basilicata: Potenza. 

14. Calabria: Catanzaro, Cosenza, Reggio. 

15. Sicily: Caltanisetta, Catania, Girgenti, Messina, Palermo, 
Syracuse, Trapani. 

16. Sardinia: Cagliari, Sassari. 

It is estimated tbat the growth of the population of the terri- 
tory now forming the kiagdom is represented with some approach 
to accuracy in the following table : 

1770 14,689,317 1838 21,975,205 

1795 16,256,974 1848 23,617,183 

1800 17,237,421 1858 24,857,417 

1816 18,380,995 1861 25,016,801 

1825 19,726,977 1901 32,500,000 

It will be seen that the population of the kingdom has more 
than doubled since 1770. 

While the mass of the Italian population is engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits, an unusual proportion of the inhabitants are 
congregated in the towns. The Italian, somewhat like the Ameri- 
can, is no lover of the country ; he dreads, of all things, an isolated 
dwelling. 

If he cannot live in the capital, then in a provincial city ; if not, 
in a country town, then in a village — only not in a country house. 

Land owners, farmers and most of the laborers are huddled to- 
gether in their squalid boroughs and hamlets; and the peasants 
have often a journey of several miles before they reach the fields 
intrusted to their care, though this tendency is now less marked 



Italy. 191 

than formerly. At the same time the number of very large cities 
is comparatively small. 

In the point of population Naples ranks first, and it is a very 
important seaport and commercial city. Genoa is also a great sea- 
port, and has an extensive commerce. Genoa has the benefit of an 
enormous trade at Milan in the far north of Italy, probably the 
most progressive city of the kingdom. It requires an average of 
more than 500 freight cars a day to handle the enormous business 
transacted at Milan. Genoa is the seaport city for Milan, Turin 
and all of northern Italy, as well as for Switzerland, and to a cer- 
tain extent beyond. 

There are only 22 towns in Italy having a population of sixty 
thousand and upward. Leghorn is an important seaport and com- 
mercial city. With the exception of four large towns belonging to 
Sicily, the greater number of the cities of the kingdom are situated 
in the north. 

Palermo is an important seai3ort in Sicily, and Messina was an 
important one. 

It is estimated that Italy produces about 140,000,000 bushels of 
wheat a year. The average per acre is only about 12 bushels, which 
would be considered less than half a crop in the United States. 

Next in importance to wheat comes maize, the most recently in- 
troduced of the cereals. The annual yield of maize is about 85,000,- 
000 bushels. 

The cultivation of rice is less widel}^ distributed. Eice produc- 
tion requires about 107,000 gallons of water per annum for every 
acre and its cultivation is found in many places to be extremely 
prejudicial to the healthiness of the locality. This prevents rice 
growing in certain communities. In certain favorable regions, 
however, it forms the predominant crop. The total production of 
rice averages about 27,000,000 bushels a year. 

Neither barley nor rye is produced to any extent. More than 
a fourth of the acreage, and nearly a third of the product of barley 
and r3^e amounting to about 18,000,000, belong to Sicily. About 
19,000,000 bushels of oats are produced annually. 

The manufacture of macaroni and similar food stuff is well 
known as a characteristic industry. It is pretty extensively dis- 



192 Italy. 

tributed, and is carried on in very primitive fashion. Tlie extent 
of the industry may be judged from the fact that, while the Italians 
themselves consume enormous quantity of macaroni, they are at 
the same time able to export from fifty to one hundred thousand 
quintets of "pastes." 

The United States is a liberal purchaser of macaroni manu- 
factured in Italy. We ship to Italy large quantities of wheat which 
is made into macaroni, as Italy does not produce enough wheat for 
home consumption. It is reasonable to say that American wheat 
is shipped to Italy, manufactured into macaroni and a considerable 
quantity of it, in macaroni form, is sent across the ocean back to 
the United States to be sold to us. This is also true of American 
grown cotton. Italy purchases considerable quantities of Ameri- 
can cotton, which is manufactured into cloth and sold to us after 
the duty has been paid at our ports. 

The potato is now found as a common article of cultivation in' 
nearly all the provinces of Italy. The crop averages about 20,000,- 
000 bushels a year. Turnips are pretty largely grown for use as 
winter fodder for the cattle. Very little success has "been made 
with producing the sugar beet in Italy. 

The vine is cultivated throughout the length and breadth of 
Italy, but in not a few of the provinces its relative importance is 
slight. Italian wine is famous throughout the world, the United 
States being a liberal purchaser. 

Next to the cereals and the vine, the most important object of 
cultivation is the olive. In Sicily, adjacent to Messina, and the 
provinces of Eeggio, Catanzaro, Cosenza and Lecce this tree 
flourishes freely and without shelter; as far north as Eome it re- 
quires only the slightest protection ; in the rest of the peninsula it 
runs the risk of damage by frost every ten years or so. 

The proportion of groimd under olives in the southern end of 
Italy averages about twentj^-five per cent. The same is true of 
Sicily; that is, of the tillable soil. In the olive there is a great 
variety of kinds, and the methods of cultivation differ greatly in 
different districts. In some sections, for instance, there are regu- 
lar woods of nothing but olive trees, while in middle Italy we have 
olive orchards, with the interspaces occupied by crops of various 



Italy. 193 

kinds. The Tuscan oils from Lucca, Calci, and Buti, are considered 
the best in the world; and those of Bari, Umbria and Western 
Liguria rank next. 

The cultivation of oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits is of 
somewhat modem date. In recent years this industry has been 
greatly developed. Sicily stands first in this respect. Keggio, 
Calabria, Catanzaro, Lecce, Salerno, Naples and Caserta 
are the continental provinces which come next after Sicily. In 
Sardinia the cultivation is extensive but receives very little atten- 
tion. 

Crude lime juice is exported from Italy to the amount of about 
10,000 quintels annually, and concentrated lime juice to the 
amount of from 11,000 to 17,000 quintels. Essential oils are ex- 
tracted from the rind of the agrmni, more particularly from that 
of the lemon and the bergamot ; the latter, however, is almost con- 
fined to the province of Reggio, where the average production 
amounts to about 220,000 pounds. 

A perfume called ^'Acqua manfa" or "Lanfa" is obtained 
from the distillation of the orange-flowers, and the petals are also 
made into a conserve at Syracuse. Of the agrumi in their natural 
state the exportation has increased. 

In southern Italy almonds, carob-trees and figs are cultivated 
on a very extensive scale. AValnuts are mainly grown in Piedmont, 
and particularly in the province of Cuneo ; hazels, on the contrary, 
have their greatest diffusion in the south, and particularly in the 
Island of Sicily and the province of Avellino. 

In the matter of implements the Italian agriculturist is far be- 
hind. The old Eoman plow, for instance, as it is described by Virgil 
and Columella, may still be seen in use in various parts of the 
country; in Sardinia the plow that figures on the ancient monu- 
ments of the island might have been copied from that at work in 
the fields. Great improvements, however, have taken place in the 
more progressive regions ; iron has replaced wood, and coulter and 
share have been increased in massiveness. But even in the Veneto 
the heavy plow drawn by as many, it may be, as six pair of oxen 
cuts the furrow no deeper than nine inches. 



194 iTALi. 

Thongli Italy is so distinctively an agricultural country, and 
has been subject so long to regular process of cultivation, a large 
proportion of its arable land is still in a state of utter neglect. It 
is calculated tbat the aggregate of the more important districts 
ready to give abundant increase in return for tbe labor of reclama- 
tion amounts to 571,000 acres; and more than twice tbat quantity 
might be utilized. 

Tbe breed of cattle in Italy is known as the PodoUan, usually 
with white or gray coat and enormous horns. In the mountain dis- 
tricts the cattle are much smaller and more regular in size. They 
are mainly kept for dairy purposes. The breeds of sheep vary 
in different sections. 

The milk of sheep is used in Italy for human food. Certain 
grades of cheese are made from it. The sheep used for dairy pur- 
poses are tall, with hanging ears and arched faces. There are many 
goats raised in Italy and the milk is used extensively for human 
food. 

The manuiacturing industries of the kingdom are of considera- 
ble importance. Of chief note is the silk trade — though it has suf- 
fered greatly from the silk worm disease, which broke out in 1854. 
It is estimated that Italy at one time produced about 8,000,000 
poumds of raw silk annually. This has been reduced to about one- 
half, but in very recent years the output has increased, but does 
not approach the former product. 

As a silk producing country Italy ranks second only to China, 
and leaves all its other competitors far behind. The culture is car- 
ried on in at least 5,300 communes, and men, women and children 
are employed in the unwinding of the cocoons. — an operation which 
was fonnerly effected by the growers themselves, but has now 
passed into the hands of those who can bring better appliances and 
more modern methods to bear. 

Next in importance to silk industry stands the cotton manu- 
facture. During our civil war the cultivation of cotton in Italy re- 
ceived a remarkable but temporary stimulus. It has been demon- 
strated that cotton cannot be produced in Italy with profit. The 
kingdom still secures the most of its supply of raw cotton from 
the United States. 



Italy. 195 

Italy produces considerable wool, and while it exports about 
1,700,000 pounds out of the country, it brings into the country, prin- 
cipally from South America, a quantity varying from 10 million to 
20 million pounds each year. 

The flax and hemp industries have been prosecuted in Italy for 
centuries. This work is in a very primitive state. Italy has long 
been successful in the manufacture of paper from linen and rags, 
according to the old-fashioned processes. The supply of home- 
made paper is far in excess of the demand, and there is a corre- 
sponding excess of export over import. Italy produces excellent 
blotting and packing papers. Considerable is done in the manu- 
facture of leather and skins. 

In 1868 a private company secured the exclusive privilege of 
manufacturing and selling tobacco, on condition of paying to the 
state an annual rent and a certain proportion of the gains. The 
company went outof existence a few years ago by limitation, when 
the state itself took up the manufacture and sale of tobacco, which 
is now a government monopoly. 

The manufacture of oils is among the most flourishing of the 
minor industries. The manufacture of sugar is of limited extent. 
There are numerous distilleries, and a few manufactories of aerated 
waters. Many small brewing establishments manufacture only a 
limited quantity of beer. The iron manufacture has increased in 
recent years. 

ART. 

In the various ceramic arts Italy was at one time unrivaled, 
but the ancient tradition has long lost its primeval impulse; and 
even where the industry remains the art has for the most part 
perished. 

As Rome is called *'the cradle of the civilized world," so may 
Italy be considered, in a sense, the cradle of art. France has taken 
up and developed much of the art that originated in Italy. 

The jeweler's art as a matter of course, received large encour- 
agement in a country which had so many independent courts ; but 
nowhere has it obtained a fuller development than at Rome. 

A vast variety of trinkets — in coral, glass, lava, etc., is exported! 



196 Italy. 

from Italy, or carried away by the annual liosts of tourists. Mucli 
of our money is left in Italy by American visitors, in exchange for 
this kind of jewelry. 

The copying of the paintings of the Old Masters is becoming an 
art industry of no small commercial importance in some of the 
larger cities. 

The production of mosaics is an art industry still carried on 
with much success in Italy, which, indeed, ranks exceedingly high 
in the quality. The great works of the Vatican are especially famous 
(more than 17,000 distinct tints are employed in their production), 
and there are many other establishments in Rome. The Florentine 
mosaics are perhaps better known abroad; they are composed of 
larger pieces than the Roman. Those of the Venetian artists are 
remarkable for the boldness of their coloring. 

FISHERIES. 

As the coast line of Italy extends to about 3,937 miles (of which 
1,048 belong to the island), the prosecution of the fisheries in the 
neighboring seas is carried on from a great many points. 

The anchovy and sardine fisheries are extensive, but not as 
prosperous as formerly. As many as fifty sword fish may be caught 
in a single day off the coast of Sicily by a single fisherman. Each 
sword fish weighs on an average from 200 to 420 pounds. 

Coral in great quantities is obtained and the Italian coral 
fishers extend their voyages to the African coast and the Islands 
of Cape Verde. Eels, soles, mullets and various other kinds of fish 
are obtained in enormous quantities. 

CONDITION OF THE LOWER CLASSES. 

Though mitigated to some degree by the mildness of the climate 
and the cheapness of certain articles of food, pauperism in its most 
painful forms is a widespread evil in Italy. At Venice, out of a 
total population of 152,000, 36,000 are regular recipients of official 
charity. The slums of Naples are foul and overcrowded. Nor is 
destitution confined to the cities. The condition of the agricultural 
laborers is in many cases deplorable. In the districts of Como, 







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Ital^. 199 

Milan, Pavia and Lodi, 'the food of the laboTers consists of maize 
bread, badly cooked, heavy and rancid, and thin sonp composed of 
rice or ''pasta" of inferior quality and vegetables often old and 
spoiled. In Southern Italy, says Villari, the peasants live in mis- 
erable houses, with a sack of straw for their bed, and black bread 
for their sole sustenance. Maize is the general foodstuff in the 
northern and central provinces, but begins to be rarer in Tuscany 
and Rome; it is again widely diffused in the upper provinces of 
Naples; but in Calabria and Apalia it forms the principal nutri- 
ment of scarcely a fourth of the communes, and in Sicily it disap- 
pears almost completely. In Piedmont, Lombardy and the Veneto 
it is used mainly in the form of polenta, but also in the form of 
bread, and in the Napoletano in the form of a finer kind of polenta. 
Lombardy, the Veneto, Emilia and the Marches are the regions 
where wheaten bread is least employed by the peasants. Bar- 
ley is mainly consumed in Apulia and Calabria, rye in Sicily and 
Lombardy. In certain communes of the Marches and the Abruzzi 
acorns constitute the ordinary diet of the poor. Wheaten pastes 
are most extensively employed by the people in Liguria., Sicily, 
and the upper Neapolitan provinces. Animal food holds but little 
place in the dietary of the poor; and even in the house of the 
well-to-do peasant butcher-meat ajjpears but seldom. According to 
Doctor Easeri, who has investigated the point by means of the 
customs returns and similar statistics, Sardinia is the region where 
animal food is most largely employed, and Sicily that where it is 
least. 

Wine is naturally the prevailing drink throughout the country ; 
but the extent of the consumption varies greatly from region to 
region, the average in the Roman province, Umbria, and Sardinia 
much exceeding that in the provinces of Naples and in Sicily. The 
use of alcohol is greatest in the Lombardo-Venetian cities; and it 
is there only that beer is of importance as a beverage. Cases of ac- 
cidental death a.nd of insanity attributable to the misuse of stimu- 
lants are much more frequent in the north than in the south or 
center, and in both respects Liguria has an unenviable pre-eminence. 

The interest of the Italians is gradually being aroused in the 
sanitary condition of their cities and towns. Many of the provincial 



200 Italy. 

capitals and cathedral cities are portentously filthy. Drainage and 
sewage works, however, are becoming matters of concern to a num- 
ber of the more important communes; and such cities more es- 
pecially as Naples and Catania are bestowing much attention to the 

subject. 

EDUCATION. 

The learning of the learned in Italy has always been very high, 
while the ignorance of the ignorant is profound. At the census of 
1861 it was found that in a population of 21,000,000 more than 16,- 
000,000 were persons absolutely destitute of instruction, and unable 
to read or sign their names. This condition, however, has im- 
proved since that time, although Italy, among the lower classes, as 
regards education, is as backward probably as most any other 
country of the continent of Europe. The ignorance, of course, is 
greater in the female sex than in the male. In 1866, 59 per cent of 
the married men were obliged to make their mark, 78 per cent of 
the women were in the same condition. In the more remote parts 
of the country matters were even worse than this. In Basilicata 
the illiterate class comprised 912 out of every 1,000 inhabitants. 

The department of education thus had no light task to perform, 
but the progress that has been attained does honor to the govern- 
ment of Italy. The administration of the educational department 
is not so strictly centralized as in France. Under recent laws every 
commune of 4,000 inhabitants is bound to maintain a primary 
school ; but as a matter of fact, some of the communes are too small 
and poor to have a school of their own, and are permitted to send 
their children to the schools of neighboring communes. 

Elementary education is free, and in 1877 primary education 
became compulsory, so far as the condition of the communes al- 
lows. For the higher education Italy possesses no fewer than 17 
national universities. Besides the seventeen establishments there 
are four free universities. In the United States poor young men 
and young women attend our universities and colleges. It is im- 
possible for this class to do so in Italy ; they are so very poor. 

There are excellent colleges of medicine, law, engineering, etc. 
The great Italian public libraries are those of Turin, Milan, Naples 
and Florence. 



Italy. 201 



LANGUAGE. 



The Italian is the language of culture in the whole of the present 
kingdom of Italy, in some parts of Switzerland (the canton of 
Ticino, and part of the Grisons), in some parts of the Austrian 
territory (the districts of Trent and Gorz, Istria, along with 
Trieste, and the Dalmatian coast), and in the islands of Corsica and 
Malta. In the Ionian Islands, likewise, in the maritime cities of 
the Levant, in Egypt, and more particularly in Tunis, this literary 
language is extensively maintained through the numerous Italian 
colonies and the ancient traditions of trade. 

The Italian language has its native seat and living source in 
Middle Italy, or, more precisely, Tuscany, and, indeed, Florence. 
For real linguistic unity is far from existing in Italy ; in some re- 
spects the variety is less, in others more observable than in other 
countries which equally boast a political and literary unity. Thus, 
for example, Italy affords no linguistic contrast sO' violent as that 
presented by G'reat Britain, with its English dialects alongside of 
the Celtic dialects of Ireland', Scotland and Wales, or by France, 
with the French dialects alongside of the Celtic dialects of Brit- 
tany, not to speak of the Basque of the Pyrenees and other heter- 
ogeneous elements. The presence of not a few Slavs stretching 
into the district of Udine (Friuli), of Albanian, Greek, and Slav 
settlers in the southern provinces, with the Catalans, of Alghero 
(Sardinia), a few Germans at Monte Rosa, and a remnant or two 
of other comparatively modern immigrations, is not sufficient to 
produce any such strong contrast in tlie conditions of the national 
speech. But, on the other hand, the Neo-Latin dialects which live 
on side by side in Italy differ from each other much more markedly 
than, for example, the English dialects ot the Spanish • and it must 
be added that, in Upper Italy, especially, the familiar use of the 
dialects is tenaciously retained even by the most cultivated classes 
of the population. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
SOUTHERN ITALY— HOME. 

People are apt to think of Italy as a far southern country. "We 
hear of it as ''Sunny Italy." While it is true that the climate, 
as a whole, is much milder than in corresponding latitudes in the 
United States, the winters in the higher altitudes of the North, 
particularly around Turin, near the Alps, are sometimes quite 
severe. 

The Northernmost part of the United States extends to lati- 
tude 49° N. and the Northernmost end of Italy adjoining Austria 
and Switzerland extends almost as far north as the forty-ninth 
parallel. But we are treating in this chapter particularly of the 
cities of Southern Italy. 

The Southernmost end of the Italian peninsula does not extend 
beyond the thirty- seventh parallel of latitude. Nearly all of Sicily 
is further south than this furthest end of the peninsula, but Sicily 
does not extend southward quite so far as the thirty-sixth parallel 
of latitude. 

The city of Rome is, a.pproximately, in the same latitude as New 
York. The difference in time between Rome and New York is six 
hours ; the difference in time between Rome and San Francisco is 
nine hours. When the people of New York are getting up prepar- 
ing for breakfast the people of Rome are eating their noonday 
meal. When the people of San Francisco are retiring for the night 
the people of Rome are taking their breakfast the next morning. 

The climate of Italy and Sicily is tempered by the effect of the 
sea currents of the Mediterranean and the warm climate of the 
African Continent across the sea to the South. 

Modern Rome occupies the plane on each side of the Tiber and 
the slopes of the seven hills. Its geographical position at the ob- 
servatory of the Collegio, Romano, is latitude 41° 53' 52'' N., longi- 

202 



SouTHEEN Italy. 203 

tilde 12° 28' 4(y' E., and its height above the level of the sea, on the 
Tiber under the Aelian Bridge, is twenty feet. 

The population in 1881 was 272,010. The population has in- 
creased until now it is 463,000, according to the last census. 

The city is built on marshy ground and is divided by the Tiber 
into two veiy unequal parts, that on the left bank being Rome 
proper, and that on the right bank being the Leonine City, or Tras- 
tevere. The walls, twelve miles in circuit and containing sixteen 
gates, of which four are built up, enclose a space of which little 
more than one-third is inhabited, the greater part to the south of 
the Capitol being cultivated as gardens or vineyards. 

The churches, of which there are upward of three hundred, 
form a notable feature in art, from their architecture, their paint- 
ings, and other decorations. 

So also do the palaces of the aristocracy, which are often of 
great magnitude, with vast courts and spacious apartments. Of 
even better style as residences are the villas, both within and with- 
out the walls ; while the handsome fountains, of which there are at 
least twelve principal ones, impart a cheerful and refreshing aspect 
to the city. 

There are three modern aqueducts, which keep Rome supplied 
with an abundance of water ; the Acqua Vergine, the Acqua Felice 
(the ancient Acqua Marcia and Claudia), and the Acqua Paola 
(the ancient Alsietina). 

Rome is, on the whole, a healthy city, except at the close of sum- 
mer and beginning of autumn, when the malaria is prevalent. 
The Trastevere is its most uniformly healthy district, the inhab- 
itants of which are superior in physical develojDment to those of 
the other parts. The neighborhoods of the Pincian and the Quir- 
inal, particularly the former, are most frequented by foreigners. 

The trade of the city is insignificant, consisting of a few trivial 
manufactures of hats, silk scarfs, gloves, artificial feathers, false 
pearls, mosaic trinkets, etc., and such articles as artists need and 
visitors fancy. The only great manufacture, if it can be so called, 
is that of pictures, original and copies ; for the painting of these, 
are offered not only the advantage of numerous galleries of art, 
but purity of sky. 



204 SouTHEKN Italy. 

The worst feature of Eoane was formerly its dirty streets and 
houses. All this has been changed, and nowhere, not even in London 
or Paris, has the march of improvement been more strongly shown 
than in Kome within the last decade. After the acquirement of 
the Eternal City by the Italian government, and its establishment 
as the capital of united and regenerated Italy, plans were pre- 
pared for its enlargement and improvement. 

These plans contemplated the construction of a magnificent 
system of boulevards, and the consequent demolition of thousands 
of old houses and the uprooting of the slums. In dealing with such 
a city as this it was naturally impossible to improve without also 
destroying, and many historic landmarks had to give way to the 
exigencies of modern civilization. 

Eome has been built and rebuilt, destroyed and restored, so often 
that there is scarcely a square foot of it but is of antiquarian in- 
terest. In carrying out the latest plan of improvement a wise con- 
servatism has been exercised, and the result is that while Eome now 
possesses all the modern advantages of fine streets and rural im- 
provements, the great works of ancient art and architecture which 
mark her for all time have been brought out in bolder relief and 
freed from the debasing influence of ignoble and squalid surround- 
ings. 

Both the city and the state of Eome are represented in tradi- 
tion as having been gradually formed by the fusion of separate 
communities. The original settlement of Eomulus is said to have 
been limited to the Palatine Mount. 

With this were united before the end of his reign the Capitoline 
and the Quirinal ; Tullus Hostilius added the Caelian, Ancus Mar- 
tins the Aventine, and finally Servius Tullius included the Es- 
quiline and Viminal, and enclosed the whole seven hills with a 
stone wall. 

The growth of the state closely followed that of the city. To 
the original Eomans on the Palatine were added successively the 
Sabine followers of King Tatius, Albans transplanted by Tullus, 
Latins by Ancus, and lastly the Etruscan comrades of Caeles Vi- 
benua. 



SoTJTHEEN Italy. 205 

The structure of the early Roman state, while it bears evident 
marks of a fusion of communities, shows no traces of a mixture of 
race. Nor is it easy to point to any provable Sabine element in 
the language, religion, or civilization of primitive Eome. 

The theory of a Sabine conquest can hardly be maintained in 
the face of the predominantly Latin character of both people and 
institutions. On the other hand, the probability of a Sabine raid 
and a Sabine settlement, possibly on the Quirinal Hill, in very 
early times may be admitted. 

Such is all we know of the manner in which the separate settle- 
ments on the seven hills grew into a single city and community. 
How long Rome took in the making, or when or by whom the work 
was completed, we cannot say. Nor is it ix)ssible to give more 
than a very meager outline of the constitution and of the history 
of the united state in the early days of its existence. 

A history of this early Roman state is out of the question. The 
names, dates and achievements of the first four kings are all too 
unsubstantial to form the basis of a sober narrative ; a few points 
only can be considered as fairly well established. If we except the 
long eventless reign ascribed to King Numa, tradition represents 
the first kings as incessantly at war with their immediate neigh- 
bors. The details of these wars are no doubt mythical; but the 
implied condition of continual struggle, and the narrow range with- 
in which the struggle is confined, may be accepted as true. The 
picture drawn is that of a small community with a few square miles 
of territory, at deadly feud with its nearest neighbors, within a 
radius of some twelve miles round Rome. Nor, in spite of the re- 
peated victories with which tradition credits Romulus, Ancus and 
TuUus, does there seem to have been any real extension of Roman 
territory except toward the sea. 

With the reign of the fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus, a marked 
change takes place. The traditional accounts of the last three kings 
not only wear a more historical air than those of the first four, 
bui they describe something like a transformation of the Roman 
city and state. 

At the commencement of the republic Rome is once more a com- 



206 SouTHEKN Italy. 

paratively small state, with hosttile and independent neighbors at 
her very doors. 

The principal points in the wonderful history of Rome (''the 
cradle of the civilized world") to be mentioned here are necessa- 
rily brief. 

Between the years 509 to 265 B. C. was the straggle between 
the orders. In this period the form of Government was changed 
from a Monarchy to a Eepublic, without the least possible dis- 
turbance of existing forms. Even the title of king was retained, 
but only as that of a priestly officer to whom some of the religious 
functions of the former kings were performed. 

After this came the conquest of Italy when King Pyrrhus, 
beaten at Beneventum, withdrew from Italy, and Eome was left 
mistress of the peninsula. 

Rome and the Mediterranean States were established and the 
*' Conquest of the West" accomplished in the period between 146 
and 265 B. C. Then came the Empire between 27 B. C. to 284 A. D. 
with the constitution of the Principate. 

In reality the history of the Roman Republic during the Mid- 
dle Ages has not, as yet, been written, and only by the discovery 
of new documents can the difficulties of the task be completely 
overcome. 

We must here omit, in serving the purposes of this volume, the 
wonderful history of this period and down to the year 1798. 

The republic had been sent to its grave and the republicans 
made two attempts to bring it back into existence. It was first 
resuscitated in February, 1793, by the influence of the French 
Revolution, and the French Constitution of the year 111 was imi- 
tated. Rome had again two councils^ — the Tribunate and the Sen- 
ate, with five consuls constituting the executive power. 

But in the following year, owing to the military reverses of the 
French, the government of the popes was restored until 1809, when 
Napoleon I annexed to his empire the States of the Church. Rome 
was then governed by a consulta straordinaria — a special commis- 
sion — with the municipal and provincial institutions of France. In 
1814 the papal governm.ent was again reinstated, and the old in, 
stitution, somewhat modified on the French system, was recalled 



Southern Italy. 207 

to life. Pius IX (1846-77) tried to introduce fresh reforms, and to 
improve and simplify the old machinery of state; but the advanc- 
ing tide of the Italian Revolution of 1848 drove him from Rome ; 
the nepublic was once more proclaimed, and had a brief but glo- 
rious existence. Its programme was dictated by Joseph Mazzini, 
who, with Saffi 'and Armellini, formed the 'triumvirate at the head 
of the government. United Italy was to be a republic, with Rome 
for her capital. The rheitorical idea of Cola di Rienzo became 
heroic in 1849. The constituent assembly (Feb. 9, 1849) pro- 
claimed the fall of the temporal power of the popes, and the es- 
tablishment of a republic which was to be not only of Rome but 
of all Italy. France, although then herself a republic, assumed the 
unenviable task of re-establishing the temporal power by force of 
arms. But the gallant defense of Rome by General Gr'aribaldi cov- 
ered the republic with glory. The enemy Was repulsed, and the 
army of the Neapolitan king, sent to restore the pope, was also 
driven off. 

Then, however, France dispatched a fresh and more powerful 
force; Rome was vigorously besieged, and at last compelled to 
surrender. With June, 1849, begins the new series of Pontifical 
laws designed to restore the government of Pius IX, whose reign 
down to 1870 was that of an absolute sovereign. Then the Italian 
Government entered Rome (September 20, 1870), proclaimed the 
national constitution (October 9, 1870), and the Eternal City be- 
came the capital of Italy. 

Thus the scheme of national unity, the natural outcome of the 
history of Rome and of Italy, impossible of accomplishment under 
the rule of the popes, was finally achieved by the monarchy of 
Savoy, which, as the true representative and personification of 
Italian interests, has abolished the temporal power of the papacy 
and made the seat of government of the united country. 

EOME AND THE VATICAN. 

Rome is the center, or capital, for the Roman Catholic Church 
for all the World. The Supreme Pontiff, who traces his succession 
from St. Peter, is regarded by Catholics as ''Vicar of Christ, head 



208 Southern Italy. 

of the Bishops, and Sinpreme Governor of the whole Catholic 
Church, of whom the whole world is the territory or diocese. ' ' He 
is also patriarch of the west, bishop of Rome and its district, and 
temporal prince over the states of the Church, known as the Pon- 
tifical States, though the exercise of the last prerogative has been 
in abeyance since the events of 1859 and 1870. 

The Pope has a primary or supremacy not only of honor, but 
of power, authority, and immediate jurisdiction over the Universal 
Church. 

When he is cauonically elected, and has given his council to 
the election he possesses without any other conformation authority 
over the whole Church, even though at his election he may not have 
been either bishop, priest, deacon, or sub-deacon, but a simple 
layman. 

Hence, the office of Sovereign Pontiff is a dignity not of order 
but of jurisdiction. His pronouncements are regarded as infallible 
when he defines a doctrine regarding faith and moral, to be held 
by the whole church. There are sixty-seven cardinals, thirty of 
whom belong to Italy. The United States and the rest of North 
America has but one cardinal. The cardinals, upon the death of 
the Holy Father, elect a new Pope, generally from one of their 
number. The Pope in recent times has always been an Italian. 

The Pope, since the loss of temporal power in 1870, has been 
a sell-inflicted prisoner within the Vatican building and its grounds. 
The grounds comprise only a few acres. The Pope is absolute 
ruler here and the government of Italy by treaty has no jurisdic- 
tion within the Vatican or its grounds. 

The Vatican is filled with the choicest paintings and sculpture 
of all time. It is attractive not only to lovers of art, but all who 
are interested in beauty and symmetry. 

Several nations of the world send two sets of diplomatic repre- 
sentatives to Rome ; one accredited to the King of Italy, the other 
to the Pope. The countries doing that are those nations that have 
established the Roman Catholic Church as the ''State Church." 
Until a very few years ago France sent an ambassador to Rome 
accredited to the Pope as well as another with credentials to the 
King of Italy. 



SouTHEKN Italy. 209 

Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal and one or two minor states 
of Europe as well as some of the South American countries still 
maintain diplomatic representatives at Eome, accredited to the 
Pope. The United States having no ''established" church, of 
course, has no such representative at Rome except the one accred- 
ited to the King. The same is true of England, Germany, Russia, 
Holland, Switzerland, and now France. 

Cardinal Gibbons, an intense American, has been a strong advo- 
cate of what he calls the "Americanism" of the Roman Catholic 
Church. The idea of the Cardinal seems to be that the Roman 
Catholic Church is as free in the United States, where there is no 
recognized "church of state," as any other institution of our 
country. 

It has been pointed out, too, that the Roman Catholic Church, 
during the past quarter of a century has made more progress in 
the United States of America than in any other country of the 
World. By the friends and advocates of Cardinal Gibbons' 
"Americanism" or "American Idea" it is held that the Church in 
the United States is unhampered as in some countries where the 
Church is given direct support by the state and where there is a 
union of church and state. 

Certain dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, 
who have been accustomed to the church participating in the tem- 
poral power of the states, are not quite in accord with the idea of 
Cardinal Gibbons and other eminent American Catholics. 

With two sets of diplomatic representatives at Rome (the only 
city in the World where this state of affairs exists), it will be seen 
that great social and political complications are bound to arise. 
There are two distinct social and political classes in Rome and to 
a lesser degree throughout Italy and elsewhere, as well as two sets 
of titled people. 

There is one set of noblemen who receive their titles from the 
state and another set who receive theirs from the Vatican. The 
aristocracy of the state are called "the whites" ; that of the Vatican 
' ' the blacks. ' ' Socially there is almost an impassable gulf separat- 
ing tlie two sets. 

WTien the King or other high official from any country visits 



210 SouTHEEi^j' Italy. 

Eome lie must be accredited to eitlier the King of Italy or the 
Pope ; he cannot be accredited to both. He must decide before he 
visits Rome which one it shall be. If he is from a country where 
the Catholic Church is the ''established" one, then, naturally, he 
must carry credentials to the Pope, ignoring the King, in a social 
sense at least. This state of affairs causes complications to be 
continually arising in the political and soicial world at Eome. 

At least this was the state of affairs up to the time of the earth- 
quake. Now a reapproachment between the Vatican and the 
Quirinal (the King's palace) has actually taken place, in spirit at 
least. The note of brotherhood was sounded by the earthquake's 
staggering blow. It is believed that time will bring about a com- 
plete reconciliation between the state and the church. 

There is an unmistakable feeling in Rome, and among all think- 
ing people everjrwhere, that the liberal element in both church and 
state will now wipe out all differences that have separated them in 
the past. Those high in the councils of the Roman Catholic Church 
in the United States would certainly welcome just such a state of 
affairs existing between the Italian government and the church 
as that existing in the United S'tates. 

It is recognized that the Pope took the first step toward heal- 
ing the breach between the Vatican and the Quirinal, when he 
went out of the Vatican and passed through the Basilica of St. Peter 
and over the arch connecting the Basilica with the hospital. During 
all his long career Pope Leo XIII never did so much, and it is the 
first timie thalt Pope Pius has set foot out of the Vatican since his 
installation as Pope. 

By so doing Pope Pius actually quitted the Vatican grounds, 
though he did not really enter Italian territory. 

The Pope widened the scope of his appeal for aid so as to in- 
clude not only Catholic Prelates, but also his personal acquaint- 
ances throughout the world. He said: ''This calamity excites us 
all into a common brotherhood. Suffering knows no creed, and 
we earnestly hope for aid from every quarter. ' ' 

The Pope decreed that all of the jubilee fund be contributed 
to tlie earthquake sufferers. This fund had been raised in all parts 
of the world and amounts to an enormous sum. 

But this was not all that the Pope did. When refugees began 



Southern Italy. 211 

arriving from Messina and Eeggio the Holy Fatlier, in response to 
a telephone message from the Mayor of Rome asking whether the 
unfortunates could be taken to the Vatican, replied in the affirma- 
tive. The wounded and starving were received at the Vatican 
where they received medical treatment and food and were cared for 
in every way most tenderly. 

To realize fully what this incident signifies it must be explained 
that Signer Nathan, the Mayor of Eorne, is not a Catholic, and that 
be was at one time G'randmaster of the Freemasons. Thus it 
will bo seen that this brotherhood, prompted by the instant death 
of the scores of thousands, the wounding and impoverishment of 
as many more, extended to heal the alleged breach that has existed 
between Catholics and Masons. 

It has certainly demonstrated that principles need not be com- 
promised or sacrificed but that prejudices, at least, has certainly 
been neutralized and in a certain degree wiped out. 

When the first of the wounded sent to the Vatican arrived at 
the railway station in Rome, they were met by Monsignore Misitaly, 
sent especially by the Pope. Some of them were taken to the 
Vatican in public conveyances, but the more grievously injured 
were carried on stretchers by the Eed Cross. They were received 
at the Vatican precincts by the nursing Sisters. 

The Pope could not restrain his desire to bring them consola- 
tion and sought them out. This is what caused him to pass through 
the Basilica of St. Peter, as related above. The Pope really went 
outside the territory, in doing this, which, under the law, is guar- 
anteed a.nd enjoys the right of extra-territoriality. The hospital 
belonging to the Pope stands on Italian ground. 

The Pope's entrance into the hospital was the sign for an out- 
burst of emotion, not only on the part of the patients, but even 
from the Pope himself and the members of his suite. Many of 
those who were not gravely wounded insisted on jumping out of 
bed to kneel and kiss the pontiff's hand. The Pope spoke con- 
solingly to each unfortunate. He said that since the earthquake 
he had lived only to think of them and study the best means of 
helping them. All his prayers to the Almighty had implored mercy, 
clemency and power to undergo the terrible strain, rising up again 
through the comfort of religion. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
ANCIENT EARTHaUAKES. 

Earthquake Annals Before the Discovery of America — In Japan — Central Italy 
— Asia — China — Palestine — Egypt — Home — Germany — Switzerland — 
Persia — ^England — Calabria and Sicily — ^Indian Archipelago — Java and 
Sumatra. 

Of the early disastrous earthquakes, one of the most notable 
occurred about the year B. C. 285 or 284, in the Island of Niphon, 
one of the Japanese group. On that occasion, in one of the prov- 
inces named Oiomi, a large tract of country was ingulfed in a single 
night, and there was formed in its place a lake 72^/2 miles long by 
121/4 wide. In an adjoining province, named Sourouga, there was at 
the same time upheaved a volcanic mountain, which still continues 
active, and will be noticed, in the sequel. Of the formation of a lake 
in the place of ground ingulfed during an earthquake the Lacus 
Cimini, in Central Italy, is another example. It is said to occupy 
the position of a city which was ingulfed about the year B. C. 1450. 

The famous Colossus of Rhodes was thrown down by an earth- 
quake in the year B. C. 224. This celebrated statue was of bronze, 
105 feet in height, and of similar gigantic proportions throughout. 
The legs were filled with large masses of stone to give it stability ; 
and there was in the interior of the body a winding staircase, which 
led to the top of the head, whence a splendid view could be obtained. 
Its feet were strongly fastened to the two moles which formed the 
entrance to the harbor, and ships in full sail passed between its legs. 
Notwithstanding its great weight and the strength of its fasten- 
ings, it was laid prostrate by the violent undulation of the ground 
during the earthquake. 

About three ye'ars after this event Central Italy wa:s much 'agi- 
tated by the earthquakes, between fifty and sixty shocks having 
occurred in one year. Hills were thrown down, the courses of rivers 
blocked up or turned aside, and many towns were overthrown. 
About the same time Libya, on the northern coast of Africa, was 

212 



Ancient Eaethquakes. 213 

greatly shaken, and nearly a hundred towns and villages destroyed. 

Ahout the years B. C. 85 or 82, the lake before mentioned — 
which was formed in the province of Oomi, in Japan — ^was the scene 
of another convulsion, during which there was thrown up in the 
middle of it an island, which is now called Tsikou-bo-sima. About 
twenty-five years after this there was a succession of earthquakes 
in China, during which whole mountains are said to have fallen 
down and filled up the valleys. These occurrences were probably 
landslips on a great scale. 

Among early earthquakes ought to be mentioned one which the 
historian Tacitus, in his Annals, under date A. U. 814 (A. D. 61), 
thus notices : ' ' In the same year one of the greatest cities of Asia, 
Laodicea, was thrown dow^n by an earthquake, and was rebuilt by 
its own workmen without any aid from us." — Ann. XIV, 27. 

This passage shows the earthquake here mentioned to have been 
so severe as to overthrow a large portion of the city, and its citizens 
to have been at that time noted for their wealth and enterprise. 
Indeed, from an ancient inscription, it appears that Laodicea was 
at one time regarded as the most splendid city in Asia Minor. 
The wealth and consequent luxury of its citizens may account for 
their lukewarnmess in the cause of Christianity, so sharply re- 
proved in the Apocalypse. That they did not repent of their re- 
ligious indifference, appears from their having lost the epistle ad- 
dressed to them by St. Paul, and from their ultimate punishment in 
the total destruction of their city by the Turks. It is now only a 
heap of magnificent ruins, and an example, among many others, how 
much more, throughout the history of the world, large cities and 
their inhabitants have suffered from the devastations of war than 
from the tremors of earthquakes. 

From A. D. 107 to 115, parts of China were again much con- 
vulsed. In A. D. 262 there were extensive shocks felt over Central 
and Southern Italy, Libya, and Asia Minor. In several places the 
earth opened and poured forth salt water. These shocks were at- 
tended with much noise. A similar discharge of water from fissures 
opened in the earth occurred during an earthquake in Hungary, in 
A. D. 518 ; several of the rents were twelve feet wide, and the water 
which issued from them was boiling hot. 



214 Ancient EaethquakeS. 

The City of Antioch was — not for the first time — visited with 
this terrible scourge about the year A. D. 525 ; on which occasion, 
however, the shocks continued at intervals for a whole year, ac- 
companied by excessive heat. Much of the city was destroyed. 
During the two succeeding years the citizens rebuilt a considerable 
portion of the ruined edifices; but they were again overthrown, 
in A. D. 528, by a violent shock, repeated many times in the course 
of an hour. About thirteen years after this there was a shock felt 
throughout nearly the whole of the then known world, during which 
a large portion of the City of Cyzicus, situated on an island in the 
Bosphorus, was overthrown. A succession of shocks, which lasted 
forty days, and were in like manner felt over a large area, includ- 
ing Constantinople and part of Egypt, occurred about ten or twelve 
years afterwards. These shocks laid in ruins the ancient city of 
Verytus, on the Syrian coast, where Beyrout now stands. 

In A. D. 557 Antioch was again the centre of a succession of 
shocks, which extended to several other neighboring cities. They 
continued for ten days, and were accompanied not only by loud 
underground rumblinigs, but by extraordinary a tmo spherical phe- 
nomena — thunder, lighting, and luminous meteors. Five or six 
years after this there was a remarkable occurrence on the banks of 
the Rhone. A mountain — said to be Dent du Midi, in the Valais — 
began groaing and grumbling dreadfully for some days and then a 
large portion of it, with the houses upon it and their inhabitants, 
fell into the stream below. This was evidently a landslip, but prob- 
ably caused by volcanic forces. The whole empire of Japan was 
much disturbed by earthquakes in A. D. 600; and eighty-four or 
eighty-five years thereafter, in the province of Tosa, in the island 
of Sikokf, one of the Japanese group, there was another dreadful 
convulsion, during which a tract of land, estimated at half a million 
of acres, was ingulfed in the sea. Constantinople and its neighbor- 
hood, together with the greater part of Asia Minor, was in A. D. 
740 again agitated by intermittent shocks, which lasted for about 
eleven months, causing much damage in the cities, and destroyiiig 
many of the inhabitants. The coast was in several places elevated, 
and the sea driven back. Two years afterwards Egypt and Arabia 
were similarly agitated, and several landslips of mountains oc- 




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Ancient Eaethquakes. 217 

eurred. The turn of Palestine, Syda, and Mesopotamia came next. 
Between the years A. D. 746 and 775 these countries experienced 
several shocks, attended with much damage to buildings and con- 
siderable loss of life. There were several landslips of mountains, 
and a chasm opened in the earth about a thousand paces in length. 

In A. D. 794 the celebrated Pharos, the lighthouse of Alexandria 
in Egypt, was thrown down by a violent shock; and about seven 
years afterwards the Basilica of St. Paul's at Rome shared a similar 
fate, along with many other buildings in Italy, during an earth- 
quake which was felt not only in that country, but in France and 
Germany. 

Unfortunate Antioch was again convulsed in A. D. 859, when up- 
wards of 15,000 houses were reduced to ruins. This same earth- 
quake was accompanied by a great landslij^) — a part of the mountain 
Askraeos having fallen into the sea. The years A. D. 893 and 894 
were distinguished by earthquakes very destructive to human life. 
In the former, 180,000 persons perished in India under the ruins 
of their dwellings ; and in the latter year 20,000 were in like manner 
destroyed in Georgia, in the neighborhood of Lake Erivan. 

The Basilica of the Lateran in Rome was overthrown by a shock 
in 896, and the monastry of Monte Cassino, in the Campania, in 1005. 
About two years after this, 10,000 persons perished in the district 
of Irak, in Arabia — partly buried in the ruins of their dwellings, 
partly ingulfed in fissures of the earth. 

In 1021 there was felt, in Germany and Switzerland, a shock at- 
tended in the latter country by curious effects. The wells were all 
troubled, and the water in many of them beoame red. Great inun- 
dations followed the earthquake, and it was accompanied by lumin- 
ous meteors. Eight years thereafter half the city of Damascus was 
overthrown by a violent shock, and in 1035 Jerusalem suffered 
severely. A few years afterwards there was a very fatal shock at 
Tabriz, in Persia, during which 50,000 persons were buried under 
the ruins of their houses. In 1052 a violent shock visited Khusestan, 
also in Persia, during which a large mountain near the city of 
Ardschan was cleft in twain. Eleven years thereafter the walls of 
the city of Tripoli, in Syria, was in 1069 again violently convulsed, 
and the sea, after retiring for a considerable distance from the 



218 Ancient Eaethquakes. 

shore, returned with a mighty wave which swept everything before 
it, with great destruction to life and property. 

In 1110 the counties of Salo and Nottingham, in England, ex- 
perienced a smart shock, and the river Trent was stopped in its 
course; about a mile in length of its bed was laid dry, and so con- 
tinued from morning till three in the afternoon. 

Persia was again severely visited in 1139. The town of Gausana 
was destroyed, and black water issued from fissures in the earth. 
It is computed that 100,000 lives were lost. About nineteen years 
subsequently there was great loss of life at Antioch, Trip'oli, Damas- 
cus, Aleppo, and other towns in Syria, through the overthrow of 
houses, 20,000 persons having perished. In the same year, but 
whether at precisely the same time is uncertain, a considerable por- 
tion of the bed of the Thames was laid dry, as that of the Trent had 
been before. 

Calabria and Sicily were severely agitated in 1169 or 1170 ; the 
city of Catania was destroyed and 15,000 people perished. This 
earthquake appears to have been connected with an erruption of 
Mount Etna, which took place about the same time. The whole of 
England was shaken in 1185. The shock was particularly severe at 
Lincoln, where the cathedral and several houses were overthrown. 
The following year there was a severe shock felt nearly all over 
Europe. It was most powerful in Calabria and Sicily, where many 
towns were injured or destroyed; while even in England several 
houses were shaken down. 

In 1188 a remarkable convulsion was experienced in the islands 
of the Indian Archipelago. It is said that on this occasion the 
islands of Java and Sumatra, which had previously been united, 
were severed from each other, and the straits of Sunda formed be- 
tween them. Sir Stamford Baffles, who found this catastrophe re- 
corded in the Japanese annals, under the date of the Javan year 
1114, hesitates about accepting the truth of the statement, by reason 
of the great difference between the geological formations of the two 
islands. He nevertheless admits that the vast scale of the volcanic 
convulsions which have occurred in this quarter in modern times 
tends strongly to corroborate the histo'rical statement. The native 
annals record other occurrences of the same kind, that took place 



Ancient Earthquakes. 219 

subsequently. They state that Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sumbawa 
were all at one time connected together ; that the detachment of Bali 
from Java took place about ninety years after the separation be- 
tween Java and Sumatra, and that seventy-six years later Sumbawa 
became a distinct island. 

The Chinese Emjoire began to be much disturbed about 1333, and 
the convulsions continued for nearly ten years. The capital, Ki- 
ang-si, was swallowed up in a great chasm, and the loss of life was 
immense. Several mountains were either ingulfed in underground 
cavities, or fell down upon the plains and valleys, blocking uj) the 
courses of rivers, and causing great inundations, which proved most 
destructive to life and proj^erty. 

In Tuscany, during an earthquake in 1335, a large mass was 
separated from Monte Falterona, near Florence, and fell down, 
jDUtting the earth in motion to a distance of four miles. A few years 
after this event Iceland and Norway were violently shaken, and in 
the latter country much damage was done. A river was ingulfed, 
and several days aftei'wards it reappeared above ground bringing 
up with it such quantities of loose materials as to choke up the 
valley through which its course lay, so producing an inundation. 
Central Europe was much agitated in 1348, great fissures opening 
in many places, and discharging pestilential vapors. Two years 
afterwards a mountain in Switzerland was cleft in twain. 

The coast of Syria was in 1402 visited by another disastrous 
shock, accompanied by a great sea-wave, similar to that which oc- 
curred in 1069. It did immense damage. There were also several 
great landslips among the mountains. In 1456 the kingdom of 
Naples experienced several violent and destructive shocks, during 
which 60,000 persons perished. The Greek Archipelago was greatly 
agitated in 1491, and in the island of Cos 5,000 lives were lost. 

CONVULSIONS OF NATURE IN TURKEY, PERSIA 

AND INDIA. 

The earthquakes in Europe and Africa are not as frequent or 
violent 'as those in certain regions 'of Asia. The mountains of Per- 
sia, and those of the Caucasus, the baein of the C'aspian Sea, Asia 



220 'Ancient Eakthquakes. 

Minor and Syria, are often devastated by terrible sliocbs. Tbe 
vrliole of tbis zone of disturbiance appears to be oonneoted witb the 
great volcanic focus of tbe Tbian Sban cbain, 'Or Celestial Moun- 
tains, in Central Asia, a focus wbicli is. constantly displaying its 
force by furious eruptions. 

Tbis zone of underground laCtivity extends from east tO' west, 
not only to within a sbort distance of tbe Caispian Sea, to Baku, and 
from tbere to Asia Minor, but, so far las one can judge, towards Lis- 
bon and tbe Azores, tbrougb tbe volcanic basin of tbe Mediter- 
ranean. In tbis vast region eiartbquakes are m^ost frequent and 
most violent in Asia Minor and Syria. 

In tbe year 33, upon tbe day 'of tbe Crucifixion, 'occurred tbe 
earthquake wbicb rent tbe veil of tbe temple ui twain, and com- 
pletely destroyed tbe town of Nioea, in Bitbynia. Tbe shock was 
felt throughout all Asia Minor, and it extended upon the other side 
of the Mediterranean to Greece, Sicily and •th>e Italian mainland. 
There is a large rock which overhangs the shore at Graeta, and, ac- 
cording to tradition, the enormous fissure which runs through this 
rock from top to bottom was caused by the shock which loccurred in 
Palestine, and until within a very recent period it was the custoan 
for vessels to salute the rock as they passed it, in <3ommemoration 
of the solemn event. 

Other earthquakes of ancient times in these regions have been 
mentioned in a previous chapter, and a brief account of some of the 
more notable catastrophes of more modern times follows : 

The high land in the neighborhoiod of Cabul, in Afghanistan, was 
violently convulsed in 1505. The earth undulated like a ;sea — ^por- 
tions being raised from twelve to fourteen feet above their former 
level, and then 'depressed as far below it. There were also opened 
great fissures, whence water issued and flooded the land. Four or 
five years afterwards, Constantinople and the towns in its neighbor- 
hood experienced a succession of shocks during three weeks. In 
ConstaUtinople 1,700 houses were overthrown', and the sea rose so 
high as to wash over its walls. 



Ancient Earthquakes. 221 

On the 2d of April, 1762, the coast of Chittagong, in the north- 
east of the Bay of Bengal, was violently shaken. There were formed 
in many places lai'ge openings in the ground, whence wiajter 'and 
mud, smelling strongly of sulphur, were ejected. A large river was 
dried up at a place dialled Bardaran, while at Bar Chiarra, near the 
sea., a tract of land sank down and was submerged, drowning 200 
people and 'their oattle. Sixty square miles of the coast i>erma.- 
nen'tly subsided. One mountain sank down till only its summit re- 
mained visible, while another disappeared altogether. Several 
other hills were rent asunder, and chasms from thirty to sixty feet 
wide were formed. The towns upon the tract which subsided were 
ovei'flowed, and one was submerged upwards of ten feet. This 
great subsidence was accompanied by a corresponding elevation 'of 
groomd in the islands of Eamree and Cheduba, lying to the south- 
ward. 

In the month of June, 1819, the districts of Cutch and Grujerat, 
in the western parts of the Indian peninsula, were much agitated 
by successive shocks. The undulations of 'the ground were quite 
visible, and it was with difficulty that people could keep their feet. 
The earthquake was accompanied by a violent tempest and a loud 
rushing noise. Bhooj, the capital of Ctitch, was overthrown, and 
2,000 of the inhabitants were crushed in the ruins. Several other 
smaller towns and villages shared a similar fate; At An jar, to the 
eastward of Bhooj, the fort with its tower fell to the ground in a 
maiss of ruins ; and even at Ahmedabad, much further to the east, 
on the other side -of the Gulf of Cutch, the great m^osque, built by 
Sultan Ahmed nearly 450 years before, was overthrown. 

From the hiUs in the neighborhood of Bhooj, several large 
masses of rock and earth were detached and hurled into the valleys ; 
but the appearance of the landscape around was otherwise little 
altered. The eaistern channel of the Indus, however, which flows 
through the Runn of Cutch, sank to a depth of seventeen feet near 
th'e fort of Luckput, lying to the northwest of Bhoo'j, and from three 
to eight feet in the other parts of the channel. The fort and village 



222 ^N-ciEiTT Eakthqijakes. 

of Sindree, niortli of Luckpii't, were at the ,siame timei overflowed, 
having «inik down so mucli tlialt only the tops of 'tihe houses and 
walls remained visible a1>ove water after the shock, which, however, 
had not 'thrown over any of the buildings. 

A tract of land, 2,000 square miles in larea, was at the same time 
so much depressed, that the sea from the Gulf of Cutch rushed in 
and converted it into a lagoon. This inundation overwhelmed the 
village and a grealt part of the fort of Sindree. There remained 
above the water little more than the upper part of the northwest 
town, which, having sustained no injury, afforded temporary shelter 
to the inhabitants, who es'caped in boats the following day. 

Simultaneously with this great depression, a remarkable eleva- 
tion wias produced 'at no great distance. Between five anjd six miles 
to 'the northward, there was raised a long mound or bank, wihich the 
inhabitants named Ullali-Bund, or God's Bank. The extent of coun- 
try thus elevated is nearly fifty miles in length from east to west, 
and its breadth in some parts is >about sixteen miles. The height 
is nearly uniform, and its greatest amO'Unt is labout ten feet. 

This occurrence is the more remarkable from its having hap- 
pened SO far from any known focus of volcanic action. The nearest 
site' of subterranean disiturbance is 'at a distance of upwiards of 200 
miles from Bhooj, in the southeastern corner of Beloochisitan, where 
lare numerofus mud volcanoes. The phenomena which resiulted from 
ithis earthquake are 'highly instructive. They illustrate the manner 
in which similar interchanges of land -and ^sea may have been pro- 
duced in other parts of the world, but of w3iich no record has been 
preserved. There are manifold traces of successive isimilar eleva- 
tions and depressions on the shores of the Buy of Biaiae near Na- 
ples ; while the raised beaches of England testify to like occurrences 
that must have happened long before the periods at which the 
annals of the people began, if not before the existence of the human 
race itself. 

The city of Shiraz, in Persia, suffered severely in June, 1824, 
a considerable portion of it having been engulfed in a chasm. A. 



Ancient Earthquakes. 223 

large part of the town of Kazroun was destroyed, and some moun- 
tains in its neig'hborhood were thrown down. At Kisliar, in Oir- 
oassia, there was a severe shock in March, 1830, attended by a 
violent gust of wind. A mountain in the neighbor^hood was oleft in 
twain, 'and one of the halves sanlv down considerably. Many houses 
were overthrown in the town and neighboring villages, and several 
hundred lives were lost. 

The peninsula of Hindustan was violently shaken in August, 
1833. Three severe shocks were felt ait Calcutta, 'and four at Luck- 
now. The center of disturbance seems to have been at Katmandu, 
where the shocks were accompanied by very loud subterranean ex- 
plosions. Many houses were overthrown there and at other places ; 
while 'at Chupra a (ihasm of considerable length and depth was 
opened in the earth. The succession of shocks continued with more 
or less violence for twenty-four hours. 

During the month of August, 1835, the central parts of Asia 
Minor were severely shaken, par«ticularly in and around Kaisarieh. 
A succession of shocks continued for six hours, the earth xuidulating 
like a tempestuous sea, with much underground noise resembling 
thunder. Mount Ardscheh, in the neighborhood, ematted dense 
smoke and flames with loud noise, but withou't any erui^tion of lava. 
Many houses were overtthrown in Kaisarieh and the neighboring 
villages, for a circuit of more than thirty miles. One village was 
engulfed, and a lake was formed in its place. The loss of life was 
considerable. 

On January 1, 1837, the central parts of Syria, between Beirut 
and Damiascus, were violently shaken. Many houses were over- 
thrown and nearly 4,000 of the inhabitants perished. Great rents 
were formed in the ground, and even in the solid rocks, while sev- 
eral new holt springs appeared. The water in the Lake of Tiberius 
was much agitated during this earthquake, and the shocks were 
repeated with diminishing severity for about a fortnight. The 
extent of the country aifected was about 500 miles in length by 
about ninety in breadth. 



224 AwciENT Eaethquakes. 

Durinig the swrnmer and auitumn of 1840, Moun't Ararat and 
its neighboTihoiod were greatly convulsed. The undulations of the 
ground were quitte perceptible', and large fissures were seen to open 
/and olo'S© again in sympathy with the wavy motion 'of the earth. 
There were ailso sieveral vertidail explo'sions aicoompanied by jets of 
water mixesd with sand and gravel. Great landslips took place from 
ih© m'ounltain and did immense damagei — 3,000 houses being over- 
thrown, with much loss 'of life. 

The East Indian peninsula was eonsiderably disturbed by earth- 
quakes during the entire year of 1845. There were repeated shocks 
felt at Calcutta, and one, on 'the 7th 'of Septemiber, was severe. 
During the miontli of July there were several smart shocks in 
Assam. Smyrna and it's neighbo'rhood were severely shaken in 
September, and hundreds of houses were overthrown. 

A terrible earthquake shoiok the opposite coasts of the sea of 
MaTrn'ona in February, 1855. Several minarets were thrown down 
in Constanitiniopie, and a number of chimney- stalks, among others, 
those of the British embassy. But it was in Brusa, on the southern 
Coast, that this earthquake proved sio calamitous. Here the shocks 
were repeated at intervals for five days. Nearly the whole town 
was overthrown by the ishock 'of Februaiy 28, and many of the 
inhabitants were killed. A sto'rm of thunder, lightning, and rain 
preceded this shock, and the air was pervaded by a strong smell of 
sulphur. Large masses of rock were detached from Mount Olym- 
pus, and many houses were crushed by their fall. 

The town of Khabooshan, in noirthwestern Khorassan, experi- 
enced a severe ishock on December 23, 1871, by which half the town 
was destroyed, and 2,000 of its inhabitants buried in the ruins. 
Early in January of the following year, another oonvuisdon de- 
sitroyed the remainder of the town and killed about 4,000 people. 
Four forts in the vicinity were so completely swallowed up that 
not a trace of them could be discovered. The earthquakes w'orked 
like havoc in the neighboTing towns and villages, and the entire loss 
of life Caused by the two catastrophes is placed at 30,000. 



Ancient Earthquakes. 225 

On April 3, 1872, there eommenced in Syria a 'Suecession of 
violent earthquakes, which were felt in Antioch, Aleppo, and as far 
as Orfa, The shocks continued for more than a week, and were par- 
ticularly severe on tlie 10th of the month. A large portion of the 
city of Antioch wfas destroyed, causing much loss of humian life, and 
great distress among the sui-viving inhabitants. Loud subterranean 
rumblings preceded the first shock, which lasted about four secionds 
— several less severe tremors following at intervals. Great fissures 
were formed in the gTOund near Antioch, and on the neighboring 
hillsides, whence many boulders were hurled. More than a third 
of the city was destroyed by the first shock. The Greek church 
fell, burying in its ruins 300 worshipers ; and t3ie Greek school, with 
fifty children, shared a like fate. The shock on the 10th completed 
the ruin commenced on the 3d — scarcely a house in the city being 
left standing. Fortunately, by that time, the inhabitants had 
camped out in the fields, so that there was no such fatality as during 
the first shock, when a great many perished — 1,600 being recovered 
from the ruins. 

A terrible series of earthquakes occurred in the interiior of Asia 
MinoA' between the 3d and 5tii of May, 1875. The sources of the 
river Meiander, in the canton of Ishikli, were supposed to have been 
the center of the seismic disturbance. In the town of Ishikli the 
havoc was fearful, about 1,000 houses being destroyed and many 
thousand people killed. In the village of Yivril not one of 300 
houses was left standing, and 450 dead bodies were taken from the 
ruins. 

The confusion which prevailed in the neighborhood of Constanti- 
nople during April, 1878, owing to the Eusso-Turlds'h ^ar, was still 
further increased by the occurrence of an earthquake shock at San 
Stefano which did great damage to propeirty and caused the death 
of forty people. The British fleet was then anchored close to the 
Turkish capital and the waters in the vicinity of the Golden Horn 
were sufSciently agitated by the shock to lead to a request being 
sent to Admiral Hornby by the commander of one of his gunboats, 
that he might get notice on the nex occasion of torpedo practice ! 



226 Ancient Eaethquakes. 

An eartliqiiiake wMcli caused ihe death 'of several thousand per- 
iS'ons occurred in the island of Ohio, on Sunday, April 10, 1881. The 
town of Castrio suffered the most severely, and of its 3,000 houses 
not 100 were left in a habitable condition. A great many villages 
were destroyed, and nearly all the inhabitants were made homeless 
■and deistitute. But charity, which in these days is very cosmopoli- 
tan in its action, soion came tO' their relief ; and although the shock 
had also been very 'severe upon the opposite coast of Asia Minor, 
it was from there that the first boatloads of provisions, tents, and 
timber were dispatched. 

More than 5,000 persons perished in this catastrophe, and after 
the search for the victims among the debris had been completed at 
the end of a week, it was found that about 10,000 more had been 
more or less injured. As it was impossible to clear away all the 
ruins, the authorities were compelled to be content with pulling 
down the walls which were still standing; and, to prevent an epi- 
demic, they spread disinfectants over the layer of stone and lime 
beneath which more tfnan a thousiand corpses were still lying. 

All the coast of Asia Minor was severely agitated, and there 
were 100 people killed in the town of Tchesme. The shocks con- 
tinued for several days, each one being lacoompanied by a terrific 
underground nois-e. 

Two years later, on October 15, 1883, the island of Ohio was 
again visited by earthquake shocks, which, though Iciss severe, 
caused great alarm, and at the same time the coiast of Asia Minor 
was much disturbed, the town of Smyrna was a good deal injured, 
and the houses of Tchesme, which had hardly been rebuilt after the 
earthquake of 1881, were again much damaged, while the town of 
Latejata was completely destroyed. 

A series of earthquake shocks which wrought terrible havoc in 
Cashmere began on the morning of May 30, 1885, and from that 
time till the middle of July no day passed without repeated shocks. 
The first, however, was the sharpest and did the, most injury; al- 
though the others, from the accompanying sounds like thunder, and 



Ancient Earthquakes. 227 

the uncertainty of the danger, were sufficiently 'alarming. During 
the prevalence of these convulsions, the people for the most part 
camped out, and thus it happened that the later shocks, although 
doing immense damage to property, did not kill many people. The 
total loss of human life was estimated at 3,200, while 30,000 cattle 
perished, the gTeat mortality among the latter being due to the fact 
that at night the animals were housed under the lower stories of the 
'buildings or in roughly built sheds in the fields. The towns of 
Sopoor and Baramoola were completely wrecked, and the inhabi- 
tants lived under any s'helter they could put up — ^mats, boards, old 
clothes, or boughs of trees. 

On June 12, 1897, the whole 'of northeastern Bengal felt severe 
earthquake shocks. In Assam every European residence was lev- 
eled to the ground, and -every public building, bridge, and work of 
mlasonry was destroyed. The loss fell mostly on planters and man- 
ufacturers. Tea cultivation in India and Ceylon is a commercial 
enterprise in wihich £35,000,000 of English capital is invested. Large 
factories in Assato and northeastern Bengal were totally destroyed 
with their machinery, land the villages erected by the tea ^companies 
laid in ruins. 

On March 13, 1902, a series of very severe ishocks ^occurred at 
Kiangri, in Asia Minor, commencing at about noon, and continuing 
at frequent intervals diuring the rest of the day. The town was 
entirely destroyed, iscarcely a building escaping more or less injury. 
In all, about 3,000 houses were completely demolished. The loss of 
life was comparatively light, as the most of the inhabitants took 
warning from the first shock, which was light, and escaped to the 
surrounding hills before the heavy convulsions came. 

Villages south and east of Tiflis, in the Caucasus, likewise suf- 
fered destruction 'and the loss of hundreds of lives at this time. 

EARTHaUAKES IN 1909. 

In January, 1909, and shortly after the great disaster in Cal- 
abria and Sicily, a severe earthquake visited Turkey, being felt 



228 Ancient Eaethqtjakes. 

mostly in the region around Smyrna. Although the death toll was 
smsall, hundreds of houses were wrecked and the property loss was 
very heavy. 

From reports received, the earth began its convulsions in the 
daytime, the first shocbs being light ones. Later they grew more 
severe and caused buildings and dwellings to collapse. The first 
shocks gave the inhabitants warning and they were thus able to get 
out of the houses in safety. 

The shocks continued at inteTvals for several days and caused 
great panics among the people, who, remembering the awful catas- 
trophe in Italy, feared that there would be a repetition in their 
country. 

UNITED STATES FLEET AT HAND. 

It so happened that several of the United States battleship fleet, 
who were cruising around (the world, as mentioned in another chap- 
ter, were in (the harbor nearest to the district affected, and although 
the American admiral offered help from his ships the Turkish 
autfiorities said they would be able to take care of it 'without outside 
asisistance. They thanked the Americans warmly for their kind 
offer. 

OTHER COUNTRIES FEEL SHOCKS. 

It would seem that the great Italian Earthquake had caused 
internal convulsions that were not to subside at once'. In fact one 
eminent scientist predicted tfhat there would be earthquakes and 
volcanic ertujptionis for three yeans. 

This would seem to be true, at least for a time, ais immediately 
following the disturbance in Sicily and Turkey ishocks were felt in 
the Ural Monntains in Asia, South America, MexicO' and Alaska. 

In Luzon in the Philippine Isilands a large volcano, which has 
reanained quiet for many years, broke ont or erupted with terrible 
violence. This was accompanied by a monster cloud-burst making 
a terrible storm. The native Filipino's being accustomed to cloud- 
bursts and Simoons (great wind and rain'stonns) were not so badly 



Ancient Eaethquakes. 229 

alarmed as they would have been if they had been less experienced. 
The beginning of the Twentieth Century marks an epoch in 
cataclysms from natural sources, little dreamed of a few months 
before and the death toll at this time is many thousands more than 
would be ta.ken in a war between two great nations. 

MORE DEAD IN ITALY THAN IN RUSSIA-JAPAN WAR. 

A careful comparison of the number of people killed in the 
earthquake shocks in Italy, which lasted only 23 seconds, and those 
killed in the war between Russia and Japan, which lasted over a 
year and a half, show^s that there were many m^ore thous^ands lost 
-their lives in the fo'imer disaster. Not since the days of the Flood, 
when Noah, 'Commanded by God, built an Ark and saved his family 
and all the animals, etc., has such a dire calamity been visited upon 
the earth. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE DOOMED CITY. 

Earthquake Begins the Wreck of San Francisco and a Conflagration 
without Parallel Completes the Awful Work of Destruction — 
Tremendous Loss of Life in Quake and Fire — Property Loss 
$200,000,000. 

AFTER four days and three nights that have no parallel out- 
side of Dante's Inferno, the city of San Francisco, the 
American metropolis by the Golden Gate, was a mass of glow- 
ing embers fast resolving into heaps and winrows of grey ashes 
emblematic of devastation and death. 

Where on the morning of April 18, 1906, stood a city of mag- 
nificent splendor, Avealthier and more prosperous than Tyre and 
Sidon of antiquity, enriched by the mines of Ophir, there lay but 
a scene of desolation. The proud and beautiful city had been 
shorn of its manifold glories, its palaces and vast commercial 
emporiums levelled to the earth and its wide area of homes, 
where dwelt a happy and a prosperous people, lay prostrate in 
thin ashes. Here and there in the charred ruins and the streets 
lately blackened by waves of flame, lay crushed or charred 
corpses, unheeded by the survivors, some of whom were fighting 
desperately for their lives and property, while others were panic 
stricken and paralyzed by fear. Thousands of lives had been sac- 
rificed and millions upon millions of dollars in property utterly 
destroyed. 

The beginning of the unparalleled catastrophe was on the 
morning of April 18, 1906. In the grey dawn, when but few had 
arisen for the day, a shock of earthquake rocked the foundations 
of the city and precipitated scenes of panic and terror throughout 
the business and residence districts. 

230 



THE DOOMED CITY 231 

It was 5:15 o'clock in the morning when the terrific earth- 
quake shook San Francisco and the surrounding country. One 
shock apparently lasted two minutes and there was an almost im- 
mediate collapse of flimsy structures all over the former city. 
The water supply was cut off and when fires broke out in various 
sections there was nothing to do but to let the buildings burn. 
Telegraphic and telephone communication was shut off. Elec- 
trie light and gas plants were rendered useless and the city was 
left without water, light or power. Street car tracks were twisted 
out of shape and even the ferry-boats ceased to run. 

The dreadful earthquake shock came without warning, its 
motion apparently being from east to west. At first the upheaval 
of the earth was gradual, but in a few seconds it increased in 
intensity. Chimneys began to fall and buildings to crack, totter- 
ing on their foundations. 

People became panic stricken and rushed into the streets, most 
of them in their night attire. They were met by showers of fall- 
ing buildings, bricks, cornices and walls. Many were instantly 
crushed to death, while others were dreadfully mangled. Those 
who remained indoors generally escaped with their lives, though 
scores were hit by detached plaster, pictures and articles thrown 
to the floor by the shock. 

Scarcely had the earth ceased to shake when fires broke out 
simultaneously in many places. The fire department promptly 
responded to the first calls for aid, but it was found that the water 
mains had been rendered useless by the underground movement. 
Fanned by a light breeze, the flames quickly spread and soon 
many blocks were seen to be doomed. 

Then dynamite was resorted to and the sound of frequent ex- 
plosions added to the terror of the people. All efforts to stay the 
progress of the fire, however, proved futile. The south side of 
Market street from Ninth street to the bay was soon ablaze, the 
fire covering a belt two blocks wide. On this, the main thorough- 
fare of the city, are located many of the finest edifices in the city, 



232 THE DOOMED CITY 

including the Grant, Parrott, Flood, Call, Examiner and Monad- 
nock buildings, the Palace and Grand hotels and numerous whole- 
sale houses. 

At the same time the commercial establishments and banks 
north of Market street were burning. The burning district in 
this section extended from Sansome street to the water front and 
from Market street to Broadway. Fires also broke out in the mis- 
sion and the entire city seemed to be in flames. 

The fire swept down the streets so rapidly that it was prac- 
tically impossible to save anything in its way. It reached the 
Grand Opera House on Mission street and in a moment had 
burned through the roof. The Metropolitan opera company from 
New York had just opened its season there and all the expensive 
scenery and costumes were soon reduced to ashes. From the 
opera house the fire leaped from building to building, leveling 
them almost to the ground in quick succession. 

The Call editorial and mechanical departments were totally 
destroyed in a few minutes and the flames leaped across Steven- 
son street toward the fine fifteen-story stone and iron Claus 
Spreckels building, which with its lofty, dome is the most notable 
edifice in San Francisco. Two small wooden buildings furnished 
fuel to ignite the splendid pile. 

Thousands of people watched the hungry tongues of flame 
licking the stone walls. At first no impression was made, but 
suddenly there was a cracking of glass and an entrance was 
affected. The interior furnishings of the fourth floor were the 
first to go. Then as though by magic, smoke issued from the top 
of the dome. 

This was followed by a most spectacular illumination. The 
round windows of the dome shone like so many full moons ; they 
burst and gave vent to long, waving streamers of flame. The 
crowd watched the spectacle with bated breath. One woman 
wrung her hands and burst into a torrent of tears. 

"It is so terrible !" she sobbed. The tall and slender structure 




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THE DOOMED CITY 235 

which had withstood the forces of the earth appeared doomed to 
fall a prey to fire. After a while, however, the light grew less 
intense and the flames, finding nothing more to consume, grad- 
ually went, leaving the building standing but completely burned 
out. 

I The Palace Hotel, the rear of which was constantly threat- 
ened, was the scene of much excitement, the guests leaving in 
haste, many only with the clothing they wore. Finding that the 
hotel, being surrounded on all sides by streets, was likely to re- 
main immune, many returned and made arrangements for the 
removal of their belongings, though little could be taken away 
owing to the utter absence of transportation facilities. The fire 
broke out anew and the building was soon a mass of ruins. 

The Parrott building, in which were located the chambers of 
the state supreme court, the lower floors being devoted to an im- 
mense department store, was ruined, though its massive walls 
were not all destroyed. 

A little farther down Market street the Academy of Sciences 
and the Jennie Flood building and the History building kindled 
and burned like tinder. Sparks carried across the wide street 
ignited the Phelan building and the army headquarters of the 
department of California, General Funston commanding, were 
burned. 

Still nearing the bay, the waters of which did the firemen good 
service, along the docks, the fire took the Rialto building, a hand- 
some skyscraper, and converted scores of solid business blocks 
into smoldering piles of brick. 

Banks and commercial houses, supposed to be fireproof though 
not of modern build, burned quickly and the roar of the flames 
could be heard even on the hills, which were out of the danger 
zone. Here many thousands of people congregated and witnessed 
the awful scene. Great sheets of flame rose high in the heavens 
or rushed down some narrow street, joining midway between the 



236 THE DOOMED CITY 3 

sidewalks and making a horizontal chimney of the former passage 
ways. 

The dense smoke that arose from the entire business spread 
out Hke an immense funnel and could have been seen for miles 
out at sea. Occasionally, as some drug house or place stored with 
chemicals was reached, most fantastic effects were produced by 
the colored flames and smoke which rolled out against the darker 
background. 

When the first shock occurred at 5 :15 a. m. most of the popu- 
lation were in bed and many lodging houses collapsed with every 
occupant. There was no warning of the awful catastrophe. 
First came a slight shock, followed almost immediately by a sec- 
ond and then the great shock that sent buildings swaying and 
tumbling. Fire broke out immediately. Every able-bodied man 
who could be pressed into service was put to work rescuing the 
victims. 

Panic seized most of the people and they rushed frantically 
about. Toward the ferry building there was a rush of those 
fleeing to cross the bay. Few carried any effects and some were 
hardly dressed. The streets were filled immediately with panic- 
stricken people and the frequently occurring shocks sent them 
into unreasoning panic. Fires lighted up the sky in every direc- 
tion in the breaking dawn. In the business district devastation 
met the eye on every hand. 

The area bounded by Washington, Mission and Montgom- 
ery streets and extending to the bay front was quickly devasta- 
ted. That represented the heart of the handsome business sec- 
tion. 

The greatest destruction on the first day occurred in that part 
of the city which was reclaimed from San Francisco Bay. Much 
of the devastated district was at one time low marshy ground en- 
tirely covered by water at high tide. As the city grew it became 
necessary to fill in many acres of this low ground in order to 
reach deep water. The Merchants' Exchange building, a four- 



THE DOOMED CITY 237 

teen-story steel sti^ucture, was situated on the edge of this re- 
claimed ground. It had just been completed and the executive 
offices of the Southern Pacific Company occupied the greater 
part of the building. 

The damage by the earthquake to the residence portion of 
the city, the finest part of which was on Nob Hill and Pacific 
Heights, was slight but the fire completely destroyed that sec- 
tion on the following day. 

To the westward, on Pacific Heights, were many fine, new 
residences, but little injury was done to any of them by the 

quake. 

The Palace Hotel, a seven-story building about 300 feet 
square, was built thirty years ago by the late Senator Sharon, 
whose estate was in the courts for many years. At the time it 
was erected the Palace was considered the best equipped hotel in 

the west. 

The offices of the three morning papers, the Chronicle, the 
Call and the Examiner, were located within 100 feet of each 
other. The Chronicle, situated at the corner of Market and 
Kearney streets, was a ten-story steel frame building and was 
one of the finest buildings of its character put up in San Fran- 
cisco. 

The Spreckels building, in which were located the business 
office of the Call, was sixteen stories high and very narrow. The 
editorial rooms, composing room and pressroom were in a small 
three-story building immediately in the rear of the Spreckels 

building. 

Just across Third street was the home of the Examiner, seven 
stories high, with a frontage of 100 feet on Market street. 

The postoffice was a fine, grey stone structure and had been 
completed less than two years. It covered half a block on Mis- 
sion street between Sixth and Seventh streets. The ground 
on which the building stood was of a swampy character and some 
difficulty was experienced in obtaining a soHd foundation. 



238 THE DOOMED CITY 

The City Hall, which was badly wrecked by the quake and 
afterwards swept by the fire, was a mile and a half from the water 
front. It was an imposing structure with a dome 150 feet high. 
The building covered about three acres and cost more than $7,- 
000,000. 

The Grand Opera House, where the Metropolitan Opera 
Company opened a two weeks' engagement the previous Mon- 
day night, was one of the oldest theaters in San Francisco. It 
was located on Mission street between Third and Fourth streets 
and for a number of years was the leading playhouse of the city. 

In 1885 when business began to move off of Mission street 
and to seek modern structures this playhouse was closed for 
some time and later devoted to vaudeville. Within the past four 
years, however, numerous fine buildings had been erected on 
Mission street and the Grand Opera house had been used by 
many of the leading independent theatrical companies. 

AH efforts to prevent the fire from reaching the Palace and 
Grand hotels were unsuccessful and both were completely des- 
troyed together with all their contents. 

All of San Francisco's best playhouses, including the Majestic, 
Columbia, Orpheum and Grand Opera house were soon a mass 
of ruins. The earthquake demolished them for all practical pur- 
poses and the fire completed the work of demolition. The hand- 
some Rialto and Casjerly buildings were burned to the ground, 
as was everything in that district. 

The scene at the Mechanics' Pavilion during the early hours 
of the morning and up until noon, when all the injured and dead 
were removed because of the threatened destruction of the build- 
ing by fire, was one of indescribable sadness. Sisters, brothers, 
wives and sweethearts searched eagerly for some missing dear 

one. 

Thousands of persons hurriedly went through the building 
inspecting the cots on which the sufferers lay in the hope that 
they would locate some loved one that was missing. 



THE DOOMED CITY 239 

The dead were placed in one portion of the building and the 
remainder was devoted to hospital purposes. The fire forced 
the nurses and physicians to desert the building; the eager crowds 
followed them to the Presidio and the Children's hospital, where 
they renewed their search for missing relatives. 

The experience of the first day of the fire was a great testi- 
monial to the modern steel building. A score of those structures 
were in course of erection and not one of them suffered. The 
completed modern buildings were also immune from harm by 
earthquake. The buildings that collapsed were all flimsy, 
wooden and old-fashioned brick structures. 

On the evening of Wednesday, April 18, the first day of the 
fire, an area of thickly covered ground of eight square miles had 
been burned over and it was apparent that the entire city was 
doomed to destruction. 

Nearly every famous landmark that had made San Francisco 
famous over the world had been laid in ruins or burned to the 
ground in the dire catastrophe. Never was the fate of a city 
more disastrous. 

For three miles along the water front buildings had been 
swept clean and the blackened beams and great skeletons of fac- 
tories and offices stood silhouetted against a background of 
flame that was slowly spreading over the entire city. 

The whole commercial and office section of the city on the 
north side of Market street from the ferry building to Tenth 
street had been consumed in the hell of flame, while hardly a 
building was standing in the district south of Market street. At 
2 o'clock in the afternoon, despite the heroic work of the firemen 
and the troops of dynamiters, who razed building after building 
and blew up property valued at millions, the flames spread across 
Market street to the north side and swept up Montgomery street, 
practically to Washington street. Along Montgomery street 
were some of the richest banks and commercial houses in San 
Francisco. 



240 'A'HE DOOMED CITY 

The famous Mills building and the new Merchants Exchange 
were still standing, but the Mutual Life Insurance building and 
scores of bank and office buildings were on fire, while blocks 
of other houses were in the path of the flames and nothing seem- 
ed to be at hand to stay their progress. 

Nearly every big factory building had been wiped out of ex- 
istence and a complete enumeration of them would look like a 
copy of the city directory. 

Many of the finest buildings in the city had been leveled to 
dust by the terrific charges of dynamite in hopeless effort to 
stay the horror of fire. In this work many heroic soldiers, police- 
men and firemen were maimed or killed outrfght. 

At 10 o'clock at night the fire was unabated and thousands 
of people were fleeing to the hills and clamoring for places on 
the ferry boats at the ferry landing. 

From the Clifif House came word that the great pleasure re- 
sort and show place of the city, which stood upon a foundation 
of solid rock, had been swept into the sea. This report proved 
to be unfounded, but it was not until three days later that any 
one got close enough to the Cliff House to discover that it was 
still safe. 

One of the big losses of the day was the destruction of St. 
Ignatius' church and college at Van Ness avenue and Hayes 
street. This was the greatest Jesuitical institution in the west 
and built at a cost of $2,000,000. 

By 7 o'clock at night the fire had swept from the south side 
of the town across Market street into the district called the West- 
ern addition and was burning houses at Golden Gate avenue and 
Octavia. This result was reached after almost the entire south- 
ern district from Ninth street to the eastern water front had 
been converted into a blackened waste. In this section were 
hundreds of factories, wholesale houses and many business firms, 
in addition to thousands of homes. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE. 

Flames Spread in a Hundred Directions and the Fire Becomes the 
Greatest Conflagration of Modern Times — Entire Business Sec- 
tion and Fairest Part of Residence District Wiped Off the Map 
— Palaces of Millionaires Vanish in Flames or are Blown Up 
by Dynamite — The Worst Day of the Catastrophe. 

MARIUS sitting among the ruins of Carthage saw not such 
a sight as presented itself to the afflicted people of San 
Francisco in the dim haze of the smoke pall at the end of the 
second day. Ruins stark naked, yawning at fearful angles and pin- 
nacled into a thousand fearsome shapes, marked the site of what 
was three-fourths of the total area of the city. 

Only the outer fringe of the city was left, and the flames 
which swept unimpeded in a hundred directions were swiftly 
obliterating what remained. 

Nothing worthy of the name of building in the business dis- 
trict and not more than half of the residence district had escaped. 
Of its population of 400,000 nearly 300,000 were homeless. 

Gutted throughout its entire magnificent financial quarters 
by the swift work of thirty hours and with a black ruin covering 
more than seven square miles out into her very heart, the city 
waited in a stupor the inevitable struggle with privation and 
hardship. 

All the hospitals except the free city hospital had been de- 
stroyed, and the authorities were dragging the injured, sick and 
dying from place to place for safety. 

All day the fire, sweeping in a dozen directions, irresistibly 
wmpleted the desolation of the city. Nob Hill district, in which 

241 



242 SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 

were situated the home of Mrs. Stanford, the priceless Hopkins 
Art Institute, the Fairmount hotel, a marble palace that cost 
millions of dollars and homes of a hundred millionaires, was de- 
stroyed. 

It was not without a struggle that Mayor Schmitz and his aids 
let this, the fairest section of the city, suffer obliteration. Before 
noon when the flames were marching swiftly on Nob Hill, but 
were still far off, dynamite was dragged up the steep debris laden 
streets. For a distance of a mile every residence on the east side 
of Van Ness avenue was swept away in a vain hope to stay the 
progress of the fire. 

After sucking dry even the sewers the fire engines were either 
abandoned or moved to the outlying districts. 

There was no help. Water was gone, powder was gone, hope 
even was a fiction. The fair city by the Golden Gate was doomed 
to be blotted from the sight of man. 

The stricken people who wandered through the streets in 
pathetic helplessness and sat upon their scattered belongings in 
cooling ruins reached the stage of dumb, uncaring despair, the 
city dissolving before their eyes had no significance longer. 

There was no business quarter; it was gone. There was 
no longer a hotel district, a theater route, a place where Night 
beckoned to Pleasure. Everything was gone. 

But a portion of the residence domain of the city remained, 
and the jaws of the disaster were closing down on that with 
relentless determination. 

All of the city south of Market street, even down to Islais 
creek and out as far as Valencia street, was a smouldering ruin. 
Into the western addition and the Pacific avenue heights three 
broad fingers of fire were feeling their way with a speed that 
foretold the destruction of all the palace sites of the city before 
the night would be over. 

There was no longer a downtown district. A blot of black 
spread from East street to Octavia, bounded on the south and 



SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 243 

north by Broadway and Washington streets and Islais creek 
respectively. Not a bank stood. There were no longer any 
exchanges, insurance offices, brokerages, real estate offices, all 
that once represented the financial heart of the city and its in- 
dustrial strength. 

Up Market street from the Ferry building to Valfira street 
nothing but the black fingers of jagged ruins pointed to the smoke 
blanket that pressed low overhead. What was once California, 
Sansome, and Montgomery streets was a labyrinth of grim black- 
ened walls. 

Chinatown was no more. Union square was a barren v« aste. 

The Call building stood proudly erect, lifting its whited head 

above the ruin like some leprous thing and with all its windows, 

dead, staring eyes that looked upon nothing but a wilderness. 

The proud Flood building was a hollow shell. 

The St. Francis Hotel, one time a place of luxury, was naught 
but a box of stone and steel. 

Yet the flames leaped on exultantly. They leapt chasms like 
a waterfall taking a precipice. Now they are here, now there, 
always pressing on into the west and through to the end of the 
city. 

It was supposed that the fire had eaten itself out in the whole- 
sale district below Sansome street, and that the main body of 
the flames was confined to the district south of Market street, 
where the oil works, the furniture factories, and the vast lumber 
vards had given fodder into the mouth of the fire fiend. 

Yet, suddenly, as if by perverse devilishness, a fierce wind 
from the west swept over the crest of Nob Hill and was answered 
by leaping tongues of flames from out of the heart of the ruins. 
By 8 :30 o'clock Montgomery street had been spanned and the 
great Merchants' Exchange building on California street flamed 
out like the beacon torch of a falling star. From the dark fringe 
of humanity, watching on the crest of the California street hill, 
'.here sprang th^e ttoise of a sudden catching of the breath — not a 



244 SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 

sigh, not a groan — just a sharp gasp, betraying a stress of despair 
near to the insanity point. 

Nine o'clock and the great Crocker building shot sparks and 
added tongues of fire to the high heavens. Immediately the fire 
jumped to Kearny street, licking at the fat provender that shaped 
itself for consuming. 

Then began the mournful procession of Japanese and poor 
whites occupying the rookeries about Dupont street and along 
Pine. Tugging at heavy ropes, they rasped trunks up the steep 
pavements of California and Pine streets to places of temporary 
safety. 

It was a motley crew. Women laden with bundles and drag- 
ging reluctant children by the hands panted up the steep slope 
with terror stamped on their faces- 
Men with household furniture heaped camelwise on their 
shoulders trudged stoically over the rough cobbles, with the 
flame of the fire bronzing their faces into the outlines of a gar- 
goyle. One patriotic son of Nippon labored painfully up Dupont 
street with the crayon portrait of the emperor of Japan on his 
back. 

While this zone of fire was swiftly gnawing its way through 
Kearny street and up the hill, another and even more terrible 
segment of the conflagration was being stubbornly fought at the 
corner of Golden Gate avenue and Polk street. There exhausted 
firemen directed the feeble streams from two hoses upon a solid 
block of streaming flame. 

The engines pumped the supply from the sewers. Notwith- 
standing this desperate stand, the flames progressed until they 
had reached Octavia street. 

Like a sickle set to a field of grain the fiery crescent spread 
around the southerly end of the west addition up to Oak and Fell 
streets, along Octavia. There one puny engine puffed a single 
stream of water upon the burning mass, but is efforts were like 
the stabbing of a pigmy at a giant. 



SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 245 

All the district bounded by Octavia, Golden Gate avenue, and 
Market street was a blackened ruin. One picked his way through 
the fallen walls on Van Ness avenue as he would cross an Arizona 
mesa. It was an absolute ruin, gaunt and flame lighted. 

From the midst rose the great square wall of St. Ignatius 
college, standing like anotker ruined Acropolis in dead Athens. 

Behind the gaunt specter of what had once been the city hall 
a blizzard of flame swept back into the gore between Turk and 
Market streets. Peeled of its heavy stone facing like a young 
leek that is stripped of its wrappings, the dome of the city hall 
rose spectral against the nebulous background of sparks. 

From its summit looked down the goddess of justice, who 
had kept her pedestal even while the ones of masonry below her 
feet had been toppled to the earth in huge blocks the size of a 
freight car. 

Through the gaunt iron ribs and the dome the red glare suf- 
fusing the whole northern sky glinted like the color of blood in a 
hand held to the sun. 

At midnight the Hibernian bank was doomed, for from the 
frame buildings west of it there was being swept a veritable mael- 
strom of sheet flame that leaped toward it in giant strides. Not a 
fireman was in sight. 

Across the street amid the smoke stood the new postofifice, one 
of the few buildings saved. Turk street was the northern boun- 
dary of this V shaped zone of the flames, but at 2 o'clock this 
street also was crossed and the triumphant march onward contin- 
ued. 

At midnight another fire, which had started in front of Fisher's 
Music Hall, on O'Farrell street, had gouged its terrible way 
through to Market street, carrying away what the morning's 
blaze across the street had left miraculously undestroyed. 

Into Eddy and Turk streets the flames plunged, and soon the 
magnificent Flood building was doomed. 

The firemen made an ineffectual attempt to check the ravages 



246 SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 

of the advancing phalanx of flames, but their efforts were abso- 
lutely without avail. First from across the street shot tongues of 
flames which cracked the glass in one of the Flood building's up- 
per story windows. Then a shower of sparks was sent driving at a 
lace curtain which fluttered out in the draft. The flimsy whipping 
rag caught, a tongue of flame crept up its length and into the win- 
dow casement. 

"My God, let me get out of this," said a man below who had 
watched the massive shape of the huge pile arise defiant before 
the flames. "I can't stand to see that go, too." 

Shortly after midnight the streets about Union Square were 
barred by the red stripes of the fire. First Cordes Furniture Com- 
pany's store went, then Brennor's. Next a tongue of flames crept 
stealthily into the rear of the City of Paris store, on the corner of 
Geary and Stockton streets. 

Eager spectators watched for the first red streamers to appear 
from the windows of the great dry goods stores. Smoke eddied 
from under window sills and through cracks made by the earth- 
quake in the cornices. Then the cloud grew denser. A pufif of 
hot wind came from the west, and as if from the signal there 
streamed flamboyantly from every window in the top floor of 
the structure billowing banners, as a poppy colored silk that 
jumped skyward in curling, snapping breadths, a fearful heraldry 
of the pomp of destruction. 

From the copper minarets on the Hebrew synagogue behind 
Union square tiny green, copperly flames next began to shoot 
forth. They grew quickly larger, and as the heat increased in 
intensity there shone from the two great bulbs of metal sheath- 
ing an iridescence that blinded like a sight into a blast furnace. 

With a roar the minarets exploded almost simultaneously, and 
the sparks shot up to mingle with the dulled stars overhead. The 
Union League and Pacific Union clubs next shone red with the 
fire that was glutting them. 

/Dn three sides ringed with sheets of flame rose the Dewey 



SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 247 

memorial in the midst of Union square. Victory tiptoeing on 
the apex of the column glowed red with the flames. It was as 
if the goddess of battle had suddenly become apostate and a 
fiend linked in sympathy with the devils of the blaze. 

On the first day of the catastrophe the St. Francis escaped. 
On the second it fell. In the space of two hours the flames had 
blotted it out, and by night only the charred skeleton remained. 

As a prelude to the destruction of the St. Francis the fire 
swept the homes of the Bohemian, Pacific, Union, and Family 
clubs, the best in San Francisco. 

With them Avere obliterated the huge retail stores along Post 
street; St. Luke's Church, the biggest Episcopal church on the 
Pacific coast, and the priceless Hopkins Art Institute. 

From IJnion square to Chinatown it is only a pistol shot. 
By noon all Chinatown was a blazing furnace, the rickety wooden 
hives, where the largest Chinese colony 1 1 this country lived, was 
perfect fuel for the fire. 

Then Nob Hill, the charmed circle o: the city, the residential 
district of its millionaires and of those whose names have made 
it famous, went with the rest of the city into oblivion. The 
Fairmount Hotel, marble palace built by Mrs. Oelrichs, crowned 
this district. 

Grouped around it were the residences of Mrs. Stanford, and 
a score of millionaires' homes on Van Ness avenue. One by 
one they were buried in the onrushing flames, and when the 
fire was passed they were gone. 

Here the most desperate effort of the fight to save the city 
was made. Nothing was spared. There was no discrimination, 
no sentiment. Rich men aided willingly in the destruction of 
their own homes that some of the city might be saved. 

But the sacrifice and the labor went for nothing. No human 
power could stay the flames. As darkness was falling the fire 
was eating its way through the heart of this residential district. 



248 SAN FRANCISCO "A ROARING FURNACE 

The mayor was forced to announce that the last hope had been 
dashed. 

All the district bounded by Union, Van Ness, Golden Gate, 
to Octavia, Hayes, and Fillmore to Market was doomed. The 
fire fighters, troops, citizens, and city officials left the scene, pow- 
erless to do more. 

On the morning of the second day when the fire reached 
the municipal building on Portsmouth square, the nurses, helped 
by soldiers, got out fifty bodies in the temporary morgue and 
a number of patients in the receiving hospital. Just after they 
reached the street a building was blown up and the flying bricks 
and splinters hurt a number of the soldiers, who had to be taken 
to the out of doors Presidio Hospital with the patients. 

Mechanics' pavilion, which, after housing prize fights, con- 
ventions, and great balls, found its last use as an emergency 
hospital. When it was seen that it could not last every vehicle 
in sight was impressed by the troops, and the wounded, some of 
them frightfully mangled, were taken to the Presidio, where 
they were out of danger and found comfort in tents. 

The physicians worked without sleep and almost without 
food. There was food, however, for the injured; the soldiers 
saw" to that. Even the soldiers flagged, and kept guard in relays, 
while the relieved men slept on the ground where they dropped. 

The troops shut down with iron hands on the city, for where 
one man was homeless the first night five were homeless the 
second night. With the fire running all along the water front, 
few managed to make their way over to Oakland. The people 
for the most part were prisoners on the peninsula. 

The soldiers enforced the rule against moving about except 
to escape the flames, and absolutely no one could enter the city 
who once had left. 

The seat of city government and of military authority shifted 
^vith every sliift of the flames. Mayor Schmitz and General 
Funston stuck close together and kept in touch with tJfe f^e- 



SAN FRANCISCO A ROARING FURNACE 249 

men and' police, the volunteer aids, and the committee of safety 
through couriers. 

There were loud reverberations along the fire line at night. 
Supplies of gun cotton and cordite from the Presidio were com- 
mandeered and the troops and the few remaining firemen made 
another futile effort to check the fiery advance. 

Along the wharves the fire tugs saved most of the docks. 
But the Pacific mail dock had been reached and was out of con- 
trol; and finally China basin, which was filled in for a freight 
yard at tlie expense of millions of dollars, had sunk into the bay 
and the water was over the tracks. This was one of the sfreatest 
single losses in the whole disaster. 

Without sleep and without food, crowds watched all night 
Wednesday and all day Thursday from the hills, looking ofif 
toward that veil of fire and smoke that hid the city which had 
become a hell. 

Back of that sheet of fire, and retreating backward every 
hour, were most of the people of the citv, forced toward the 
Pacific by the advance of the flames i ne open space of the 
Presidio and Golden Gate park was their /=*»ily haven and so the 
night of the second day found them. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR. 

Fire Spreads North and South Attended by Many Spectacular 
Features — Heroic Work of Soldiers Under General Funston — 
Explosions of Gas Add to General Terror. 

THE third day of the fire was attended by many spectacular 
features, many scenes of disaster and many acts of dar- 
ing heroism. 

When night came the fire was raging over fifty acres of the 
water front lying between Bay street and the end of Meiggs and 
Fisherman's wharf. To the eastward it extended down to the 
sea wall, but had not reached the piers, which lay a quarter of a 
mile toward the east. 

The cannery and warehouses of the Central California Canner- 
ies Company, together with 20,000 cases of canned fruit, was to- 
tally destroyed, as also was the Simpson and other lumber com- 
panies' yards. 

The flames reached the tanks of the San Francisco Gas Com- 
pany, which had previously been pumped out^ and had burned 
the ends of the grain sheds, five in number, which extended fur- 
ther out toward the point. 

Flame and smoke hid from view the vessels that lay off shore 
vainly attempting to check the fire. No water was available ex- 
cept from the waterside and it was not until almost dark that 
the department was able to turn its attention to this point. 

At dusk the fire had been checked at Van Ness avenue and 
Filbert street. The buildings on a high slope between Van 
3[ess and Polk, Union and Filbert streets were blazing fiercely, 
i^nned by a high wind, but the blocks were so sparsely settled 

250 



THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 251 

that the fire had but a slender chance of crossing Van Ness at 
that point. 

Mayor Schmitz, who directed operations at that point, con- 
ferred with the mihtary authorities and decided that it was not 
necessary to dynamite the buildings on the west side of Van 
Ness. As much of the fire department as could be collected was 
assembled to make a stand at that point. 

To add to the horrors of the general situation and the gen- 
eral alarm of many people who ascribed the cause of the sub- 
terranean trouble to another convulsion of nature, explosions of 
sewer gas have ribboned and ribbed many streets. A Vesuvius 
in miniature was created by such an upheaval at Bryant and 
Eighth streets. Cobblestones were hurled twenty feet upward 
and dirt vomited out of the ground. This situation added to 
the calamity, as it w,as feared the sewer gas would breed dis- 
ease. 

Thousands were roaming the streets famishing for food and 
water and while supplies were coming in by the train loads the 
system of distribution was not in complete working order. 

Many thousands had not tasted food or water for two and 
three days. They were on the verge of starvation. 

The flames were checked north of Telegraph hill, the western 
boundary being along Franklin street and California street south- 
east to Market street. The firemen checked the advance of 
flames by dynamiting two large residences and then backfiring. 
Many times before had the firemen made such an effort, but 
always previously had they met defeat. 

But success at that hour meant little for San Francisco. 

The fllames still burned fitfully about the city, but the spread 
of fire had been checked. 

A three-story lodging house at Fifth and Minna streets col- 
lapsed and over seventy-five dead bodies were taken out. There 
were at least fifty other dead bodies exposed. This building 



252 THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 

was one of the first to take fire on Fifth street. At least 100 peo- 
ple were lost in the Cosmopolitan on Fourth street. 

The only building standing between Mission, Howard, East 
and Stewart streets was the San Pablo hotel. The shot tower 
at First and Howard streets was gone. This landmark was 
built forty years ago. The Risdon Iron works were partially de- 
stroyed. The Great Western Smelting and Refining works es- 
caped damages, also the Mutual Electric Light works, with 
slight damage to the American Rubber Company, Vietagas En- 
gine Company, Folger Brothers' coffee and spice house was also 
uninjured and the firm gave away large quantities of bread and 
milk. 

Oyer 150 people were lost in the Brunswick hotel, Seventh and 
Mission streets. 

The soldiers who rendered such heroic aid took the cue from 
General Funston. He had not slept. He was the real ruler of 
San Francisco. All the military tents available v/ere set up in 
the Presidio and the troops were turned out of the barracks to 
bivouac on the ground. 

In the shelter tents they placed first the sick, second the more 
delicate of the women, and third, the nursing mothers, and in 
the afternoon he ordered all the dead buried at once in a tem- 
porary cemetery in the Presidio grounds. The recovered bodies 
were carted about the city ahead of the flames. 

Many lay in the city morgue until the fire reached that; then 
it was Portsmouth square until it grew too hot; afterwards they 
were taken to the Presidio. There was another stream of bod- 
fes which had lain in Mechanics' pavilion at first, and had then 
been laid out in Columbia square, in the heart of a district devas- 
tated first by the earthquake and then by fire. 

The condition of the bodies was becomnig a great dan- 
ger. Yet the troops had no men to spare to dig graves, and the 
young and able bodied men were mainly fighting on the fire line 
or ut^etily exhausted. 



THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 253 

It was Funston who ordered that the old men and the weak- 
Hngs should take this work in hand. They did it wilHngly enough, 
but had they refused the troops on guard would have forced 
them. It was ruled that every man physically capable of handling 
a spade or a pick should dig for an hour. When the first shallow 
graves were ready the men, under the direction of the troops, 
lowered the bodies several in a grave, and a strange burial began. 

The women gathered about crying; many of them knelt while 
a Catholic priest read the burial service and pronounced absolu- 
tion. All the afternoon this went on. 

Representatives of the city authorities took the names of 
as many of the dead as could be identified and the description? 
of the others. Many, of course, will never be identified. 

So confident were the authorities that they had the situation 
in control at the end of the third day that Mayor Schmitz issued 
the following proclamation: 

"To the Citizens of San Francisco: The fire is now under 
control and all danger is passed. The only fear is that other 
fires may start should the people build fires in their stoves and 
I therefore warn all citizens not to build fires in their homes 
until the chimneys have been inspected and repaired properly. 
All citizens are urged to discountenance the building of fires. I 
congratulate the citizens of San Francisco upon the fortitude 
they have displayed and I urge upon them the necessity of aiding 
the authorities in the work of relieving the destitute and suffering. 
For the relief of those persons who are encamped in the various 
sections of the city everything possible is being done. In Gol- 
den Gate park, where there are approximately 200,000 home- 
less persons, relief stations have been established. The Spring 
Valley Water Company has informed me that the Mission district 
will be supplied with water this afternoon, between 10,000 and 
12,000 gallons daily being available. Lake Merced will be taken 
by the federal troups and that supply protected. 

"Eugene E. Schmitz, Mayor." 



254 THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 

Although the third day of San Francisco's desolation dawned 
with hope, it ended in despair. 

In the early hours of the day the flames, which had raged for 
thirty-six hours, seemed to be checked. 

Then late in the afternoon a fierce gale of wind from the 
northwest set in and by 7 o'clock the conflagration, with its en- 
ergy restored, was sweeping over fifty acres of the water front. 

The darkness and the wind, which at times amounted to a 
gale, added fresh terrors to the situation. The authorities con- 
sidered conditions so grave that it was decided to swear in imme- 
diately 1,000 special policemen armed with rifles furnished by the 
federal government. 

In addition to this force, companies of the national guard ar- 
rived from many interior points. 

In the forenoon, when it was believed the fire had been check'^ 
ed, the full extent of the destitution and suffering of the people 
was seen for the first time in near perspective. While the whole 
city was burning there was no thought of food or shelter, death, 
injury, privation, or loss. The dead were left unburied and the 
living were left to find food and a place to sleep where they could. 

On the morning of the third day, however, the indescribable 
destitution and suffering were borne in upon the authorities with 
crushing force. Dawn found a line of men, women, and children, 
numbering thousands, awaiting morsels of food at the street bak- 
eries. The police and military were present in force, and each 
person was allowed only one loaf. 

A big bakery was started early in the morning in the outskirts 
of the city, with the announcement that it would turn out 50,000 
loaves of bread before night. The news spread and thousands of 
hungry persons crowded before its doors before the first deliver- 
ies were hot from the oven. Here again police and soldiers kept 
order and permitted each person to take only one loaf. The loa^^es 
were given out without cost. 

These precautions were necessary, for earlier in the day bread 



THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 255 

had sold as high as $1 a loaf and two loaves and a can of sardines 
brought in one instance $3.50. 

Mayor Schmitz took prompt and drastic steps to stop this ex- 
tortion. By his order all grocery and provision stores in the out- 
lying districts which had escaped the flames were entered by the 
police and their goods confiscated. 

Next to the need for food there was a cry for water, which 
until Friday morning the authorities could not answer. 

In spite of all efforts to relieve distress there was indescrib' 
able suffering. 

Women and children who had comfortable, happy homes a 
few days before slept that night — if sleep came at all — on hay on 
the wharves, on the sand lots near North beach, some of them 
under the little tents made of sheeting, which poorly protected 
them from the chilling ocean winds. The people in the parks 
were better provided in the matter of shelter, for they left their 
homes better prepared. 

Thousands of members of families were separated, ignorant 
of one another's whereabouts and without means of ascertaining. 
The police on Friday opened up a bureau of registration to bring 
relatives together. 

The work of burying the dead was begun Friday for the first 
time. Out at the Presidio soldiers pressed into service all men 
who came near and forced them to labor at burying the dead. So 
thick were the corpses piled up that they were becoming a men- 
ace, and early in the day the order was issued to bury them at 
any cost. The soldiers were needed for other work, so, at the 
point of rifles, the citizens were compelled to take the work of 
burying. Some objected at first, but the troops stood no trifling, 
and every man who came in reach was forced to work at least one 
hour. Rich men who had never done such work labored by the 
side of the workingmen digging trenches in the sand for the sep- 
ulcher of those who fell in the awful calamity. Al the present 



256 THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 

i 

writing many still remain unburied and the soldiers are still press- 
ing men into service. 

The Folsom street dock was turned into a temporary hospital, 
the harbor hospital being unable to accommodate all the injured 
who were brought there. 

About 100 patients were stretched on the dock at one time. 
In the evening tugs conveyed them to Goat Island, where they 
were lodged in the hospital. The docks from Howard street to 
Folsom street had been saved, and the fire at this point was not 
permitted to creep farther east than Main street. 

The work of clearing up the wrecked city has already begun 
at the water front in the business section of the town. A force 
of 100 men were employed under the direction of the street de- 
partment clearing up the debris and putting the streets in proper 
condition. 

It was impossible to secure a vehicle except at extortionate 
prices. One merchant engaged a teamster and horse and wagon, 
agreeing to pay $50 an hour. Charges of $20 for carrying trunks 
a few blocks were common. The police and military seized teams 
wherever they required them, their wishes being enforced at re- 
volver point if the owner proved indisposed to comply with the 
demands. 

Up and down the broad avenues of the parks the troops pa- 
trolled, keeping order. This was difficult at times, for the second 
hysterical stage had succeeded the paralysis of the first day and 
people were doing strange things. A man, running half naked, 
tearing at his clothes, and crying, "The end of all things has 
come !" was caught by the soldiers and placed under arrest. 

Under a tree on the broad lawn of the children's playground a 
baby was born. By good luck there was a doctor there, and the 
women helped out, so that the mother appeared to be safe. They 
carried her later to the children's building in the park and did their 
best to make her comfortable. 

All night wagons mounted with barrels and guarded by sol' 



THIRD DAY ADDS TO HORROR 257 

diers drove through the park doling out water. There was al- 
ways a crush about these wagons and but one drink was allowed 
to a person. 

Separate supplies w^ere sent to the sick in the tents. The 
troops allowed no camp fires, fearing that the trees of the park 
might catch and drive the people out of this refuge to the open 
and windswept sands by the ocean. 

The wind which had saved the heights came cold across the 
park, driving a damp fog, and for those who had no blankets it 
was a terrible night, for many of them w^ere exhausted and must 
sleep, even in the cold. They threw themselves down in the wet 
grass and fell asleep. 

When the morning came the people even prepared to make 
the camp permanent. An ingenious man hung up before his little 
blanket shelter a sign on a stick giving his name and address be- 
fore the fire wiped him out. This became a fashion, and it was 
taken to mean that the space was preempted. 

Toward midnight a black, staggering body of men began to 
weave through the entrance. They were volunteer fire fighters, 
looking for a place to throw themselves down and sleep. These 
men dropped out all along the line and were rolled out of the 
driveways by the troops. 

There was much splendid unselfishness there. Women gave 
up their blankets and sat up or walked about all night to cover 
exhausted men who had fought fire until there was no more fight 
in them. 



TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF WRECK AND RUIN. 

Fierce Battle to Save the Famous Ferry Station, the Chief Inlet to 
and Egress from San Francisco — Fire Tugs and Vessels in the 
Bay Aid in Heroic Fight — Fort Mason, General Funston's Tem- 
porary Headquarters, has Narrow Escape — A Survey of the 
Scene of Desolation. 

WHEN darkness fell over the desolate city at the end of the 
fourth day of terror, the heroic men who had borne the 
burden of the fight with the flames breathed their first sigh of 
relief, for what remained of the proud metropolis of the Pacific 
coast was safe. 

This was but a semi-circular fringe, however, for San Fran- 
cisco w^as a city desolate Vv^th twenty square miles of its best area 
in ashes. In that blackened territory lay the ruins of sixty thou- 
sand buildings, once worth many millions of dollars and contain- 
ing many millions more. 

The fourth and last day of the world's greatest conflagration 
had been one of dire calamity and in some respects was the most 
spectacular of all. On the evening of the third day (Friday) a gale 
swept over the city from the west, fanned the glowing embers 
into fierce flames and again started them upon a path of terrible 
destruction. 

The fire which had practically burnt itself out north of Tele- 
graph Hill was revived by the wind and bursting into a blaze crept 
toward the East, threatening the destruction of the entire water 
front, including the Union ferry depot, the only means of egress 
from the devastated city. 

258 



TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 259 

The weary firemen still at work in other quarters of the city 
were hastily summoned to combat the new danger. Hundreds 
of sailors from United States warships and hundreds of soldiers 
joined in the battle, and from midnight until dawn men fought 
lire as never fire had been fought before. Fire tugs drew up along 
the water front and threw immense streams of water on to the 
flames of burning factories, warehouses and sheds. 

Blocks of buildings were blown up with powder, guncotton, 
and dynamite, or torn down by men armed with axes and ropes. 
All night long the struggle continued. Mayor Schmitz and Chief 
of Police Dinan, although without sleep for forty-eight hours, 
remained on the scene all night to assist army and navy officers in 
directing the fight. 

At 7 o'clock Saturday morning, April 21, the battle was won. 
At that hour the fire was burning grain sheds on the water front 
about half a mile north of the Ferry station, but was confined to 
a comparatively small area, and with the work of the fireboats 
on the bay and the firemen on shore, who were using salt water 
pumped from the bay, prevented the flames from reaching the 
Ferry building and the docks in that immediate vicinity. 

On the north beach the fire did not reach that part of the 
water front lying west of the foot of Powell street. The fire on 
the water front was the only one burning. The entire western 
addition to the city lying west of Van Ness avenue, which escaped 
the sweep of flame on Friday, was absolutely safe. 

Forty carloads of supplies, which had been run upon the belt 
line tracks near one of the burned wharves, were destroyed dur- 
ing the night. 

A survey of the water front Saturday morning showed that 
everything except four docks had been swept clean from Fisher- 
man's wharf, at the foot of Powell street, to a point around 
westerly, almost to the Ferry building. 

This means that nearly a mile of grain sheds, docks and 
wharves were added to the general destruction. In the section 



260 TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 

north of Market street the ruined district was practically bounded 
on the west by Van Ness avenue, although in many blocks the 
flames destroyed squares to the west of that thoroughfare. The 
Van Ness avenue burned line runs northerly to Greenwich street, 
which is a few blocks from the bay. Then the boundary was 
up over Telegraph Hill and down to that portion of the shore 
that faces Oakland. Practically everything included between 
Market, Van Ness avenue, Greenwich, and the bay was in ashes. 

On the east side of Hyde street hill the fire burned down to 
Bay street and Montgomery avenue and stopped at that inter- 
section. 

Fort Mason was saved only by the most strenuous efforts of 
soldiers and firemen. It stands just north of the edge of the 
burned district, the flames having been checked only three blocks 
away at Greenwich street. 

All south of Market street except in the vicinity of the Pacific 
Mail dock, was gone. This section is bounded on the north by 
Market street and runs out to Guererro street, goes out that 
street two blocks, turns west to Dolores, runs west six blocks 
to about Twenty-second, taking in four blocks on the other side 
of Dolores, The fire then took an irregular course southward, 
spreading out as far as Twenty-fifth street and went down that 
Vv^ay to the southerly bay shore. 

Maj. C. A. Devol, depot quartermaster and superintendent of 
the transport service, graphically described the conquering of the 
fire on the water front, in which he played an important part : 

"This fire, which ate its way down to the water front early- 
Friday afternoon, was the climax of the whole situation. 

"We realized at once that were the water front to go, San 
Francisco would be shut off from the world, thus paralyzing all 
transportation faculties for bringing in food and water to the 
thousands of refugees huddled on the hillsides from Fort Mason 
to Golden Gate Park. It would have been impossible to either 



TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 261 

come in or go out of the city save by row boats and floats, or by 
the blocked passage overland southward. 

"This all-important section of the city first broke into flames 
in a hollow near Meigg's wharf, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 
The tugs of our service were all busy transporting provisions from 
Oakland, but the gravity of the situation made it necessary for all 
of them to turn to fire-fighting. 

"The flames ate down into the extensive lumber district, but 
had not caught the dock line. Behind the dock, adjacent to the 
Spreckels sugar warehouse and wharf, were hundreds of freight 
cars. Had these been allowed to catch fire, the flames would 
have swept down the entire water front to South San Francisco. 

"The climax came at Pier No. 9, and it was here that all ener- 
gies were focused. A large tug from Mare Island, two fire pa- 
trol boats, the Spreckels tugs and ten or twelve more, had lines of 
hose laid into the heart of the roaring furnace and were pumping 
from the bay to the limit of their capacities. 

"About 5 o'clock I was told that the tugs were just about hold- 
ing their own and that more help would be needed. The Slocum 
and the McDowell were at once ordered to the spot. I was on 
board the former and at one time the heat of the fire was so great 
that it was necessary to play minor streams on the cabin and 
sides of the vessel to keep it from taking fire. We were in a slip 
surrounded by fl.ames. 

"Our lines of hose once laid to the dockage, we found willing- 
hands of volunteers waiting to carry the hose forward. I saw 
pale, hungry men, who probably had not slept for two days, hang 
on to the nozzle and play the stream until they fell from exhaus- 
tion. Others took their places and only with a very few excep- 
tions was it necessary to use force to command the assistance of 
citizens or onlookers. 

"All night the flames raged through the lumber district, and 
the fire reached its worst about 3 :30 o'clock Saturday morning. 
Daylight found it under control." 



262 TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 

All that was left of the proud Argonaut city was like a Cres- 
cent moon set about a black disk of shadow. A Saharan desola- 
tion of blackened, ash covered,, twisted debris was all that re- 
mained of three-fifths of the city that four days ago stood like a 
sentinel in glittering, jeweled armor, guarding the Golden Gate to 
the Pacific. 

Men who had numbered their fortunes in the tens of thou- 
sands camped on the ruins of their homes, eating as primitive men 
ate — gnawing; thinking as primitive men thought. Ashes and the 
dull pain of despair were their portions. They did not have the 
volition to help themselves, childlike as the men of the stone age, 
they awaited quiescent what the next hour might bring them. 

Fear they had none, because they had known the shape of fear 
for forty-eight hours and to them it had no more terrors. Men 
overworked to the breaking point and women unnerved by hys- 
teria dropped down on the cooling ashes and slept where they 
lay, for had they not seen the tall steel skyscrapers burn like a 
torch? Had they not beheld the cataracts of flame fleeting un- 
hindered up the broad avenues, and over the solid blocks of the 
city ? 

Fire had become a commonplace. Fear of fire had been blunt- 
ed by their terrible suffering, and although the soldiers roused the 
sleepers and warned them against possible approaching flames, 
they would only yawn, wrap their blanket about them and stolidly 
move on to find some other place where they might drop and 
aeain slumber like men dead. 

As the work of clearing away the debris progressed it was 
found that an overwhelming portion of the fatalities occurred in 
the cheap rooming house section of the city, where the frail ho- 
tels were crowded at the time of the catastrophe. 

In one of these hotels alone, the five-story Brunswick rooming 
house at Sixth and Howard streets, it is believed that 300 people 
perished. The building had 300 rooms filled with guests. It 



TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 263 

collapsed to the ground entirely and fire started amidst the ruins 
scarcely five minutes later. 

South of Market street, where the loss of life was greatest, 
was located many cheap and crowded lodging houses. Among 
others the caving in of the Royal, corner Fourth and Minna 
streets, added to the horror of the situation by the shrieks of its 
many scores of victims imbedded in the ruins. 

The collapsing of the Porter House on Sixth street, between 
Mission and Market, came about in a similar manner. Fully sixty 
persons were entombed midst the crash. Many of these were 
saved before the fire eventually crept to the scene. 

Part of the large Cosmopolitan House, corner Fifth and Mis- 
sion streets, collapsed at the very first tremble. Many of the 
sleepers were buried in the ruins; other escaped in their night 
clothes. 

At 77^ Mission street the Wilson House, with its four stories 
and eighty rooms, fell to the ground a mass of ruins. As far as 
known very few of the inmates were rescued. 

The Denver House on lower Third street, with its many 
rooms, shared the same fate and none may ever know how many 
were killed, the majority of the inmates being strangers. 

A small two-story frame building occupied by a man and wife 
at 405 Jessie street collapsed without an instant's warning. Both 
were killed. 

To the north of Market street the rooming-house people 
fared somewhat better. The Luxemburg, corner of Stockton and 
O'Farrell streets, a three-story affair, suffered severely from the 
falling of many tons of brick from an adjoining buildi«^. The 
falling mass crashed through the building, killing a man and 
woman. 

At the Sutter street Turkish baths a brick chimney toppled 
over and crashing through the roof killed one of the occupants 
as he lay on a cot. Another close by, lying on another cot, 
escaped. 



264 TWENTY SQUARE MILES OF RUIN 

Two hundred bodies were found in the Potrero district, south 
of Shannon street in the vicinity of the Union Iron works, were 
cremated at the Six-Mile House, on Sunday by the order of 
Coroner AValsh. Some of the dead were the victims of falling 
buildings from the earthquake shock, some were killed in the fire. 

So many dead were found in this limited area that cremation 
was deemed absolutely necessary to prevent disease. The names 
of some of the dead were learned, but in the majority of cases 
identification was impossible owing to the mutilation of the 
features. 

A systematic search for bodies of the victims of the earth- 
quake and fire was made by the coroner and the state board of 
health inspectors as soon as the ruins cooled sufficiently to permit 
a search. 

The body of an infant was found in the center of Union 
street, near Dupont street. 

Three bodies were found in the ruins of the house on Harri- 
son street between First and Second streets. They had been 
burned beyond all possibility of identification. They were buried 
on the north beach at the foot of Van Ness avenue. 

The body of a man was found in the middle of Silver street, 
between Third and Fourth streets. A bit of burned envelope was 
found in the pocket of the vest bearing the name "A. Houston." 

The total number of bodies recovered and buried up to Sun- 
day night was 500. No complete record can ever be obtained as 
many bodies were buried without permits from the coroner and 
the board of health. 

Whenever a body was found it was buried immediately with- 
out any formality whatever and, as these burials were made at 
widely separated parts of the city by different bodies of searchers, 
who did not even make a prompt report to headquarters, con- 
siderable confusion resulted in estimating the number of casual- 
ties And exag-gerated reports resulted. 



CHAPTER XXL 

VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES. 

Beautiful Italian City on the Mediterranean Almost Engulfed in 
Ashes and Lava from the Terrible Volcano — Vv'orst Eruption 
Since the Days of Pompeii and Herculaneum — Buildings 
Crushed and Thousands Rendered Homeless. 

THE worst eruption of Mt. Vesuvius since the days when it 
buried under molten lava and ashes Pompeii and Hercula- 
neum occurred on April 6, 1906. Almost without warning the 
huge crater opened its fiery mouth and poured from its throat and 
fiery interior and poured down the mountain sides oceans of 
burning lava, and warned 60,000 or 70,000 inhabitants of villages 
in the paths of the fiery floods that their only safety was in imme- 
diate flight. From the very start the scene was terrible and awe- 
inspiring. From the summit of the mountain a column of fire 
fully 1,000 feet leaped upward and lighted by its awful glare the 
sky and sea for miles around. Occasionally great masses of 
molten stone, some weighing as much as a ton were, accompanied 
by a thunderous noise, ejected from the crater and sent crashing 
down the mountain side, causing the natives, even as far as 
Naples, to quake with fear, abandon their homes and fall, pray- 
ing, on their knees. One of the immense streams of lava which 
flowed from the crater's mouth was more than 200 feet wide and, 
ever broadening, kept advancing at the rate of 21 feet a minute. 

The first great modern eruption was that of 1631, eleven years 
after the pilgrim fathers landed on Plymouth rock. A sudden 
tidal wave of lava, utterly unexpected, engulfed 18,000 people, 
many of the coast towns being wholly and the remainder par- 
tially wiped out. 

265 



266 VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 

In 1707 the volcano sent forth a cloud of ashes so dense that 
at midday in the streets of Naples the blackness of the darkest 
night reigned supreme. The shrieks of terror stricken women 
pierced the air and the churches were crowded by the populace. 
The relics of San Januarius — his skull among them — were carried 
in procession through the streets. 

Thirty years later a stream of lava one mile wide and con- 
taining 300,000,000 cubic feet burst from the mountain side. The 
next notable eruption was that of 1760, when new cones formed 
at the side and gave forth lava, smoke and ashes. Seven years 
later the king of Naples hastily retreated into the capital from 
the palace at Portici, threatened by a fresh outburst, and found 
the Neapolitans again in confusion. 

An eruption lasting a year and a half commenced in 1793. 
Lava was emitted for fifteen hours and the sea boiled 100 yards 
from the coast. 

That the Vesuvius eruptions are gaining in frequency is 
attested by the record of the nineteenth century, surpassing as 
it does that of the eighteenth. The first of note occurred in 1822, 
when the top of the great cone fell in and a lava stream a mile 
in width poured out. Twelve years.later a river of lava nine miles 
long wiped out a town of 500 houses. 

Lava flowed almost to the gates of Naples in 1855 and caused 
a deplorable loss of property to the cultivated region above. 

Blocks of stone forty-five feet in circumference were hurled 
down the mountain by the spectacular outburst of 1872. Two 
lava floods rushed down the valley on two sides, ashes were shot 
thousands of feet in the air and the sea rose for miles. More than 
20,000,000 cubic feet of lava was ejected in a single day. 

Since 1879 Vesuvius has been variously active there being two 
eruptions of note in 1900 and two others in 1903. But that of 
1905 was more violent than any since 1872. Red hot stones 
hurled 1,600 feet above the cone dropped down the flanks of the 
mountain with deafening sound. One stone thrown out weighed 



VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 267 

two tons, while 1,844 violent explosions were recorded in a single 
day by the instruments of the seismic observatory. 

The cog railroad running nearly to the top has been badly 
damaged a number of times in recent years and the occupants of 
the meteorological observatory on or near the summit have had 
several narrow escapes. 

This institution is situated about a mile and a half from the 
cone, near the foot of the rope railway ascending that troubled 
apex. It is a handsome edifice of white stone and can be seen at 
a great distance against the black background of lava. It stands 
on the side toward Naples, on the top of a conspicuous ridge 2,080 
feet above the level of the sea. On each side of this ridge flows a 
river of lava during eruptions, but the building has withstood all, 
unscathed, as yet. 

An observer is on duty, night and day, even during the most 
violent outbursts. During the late one, when a sheet of red-hot 
lava glowed on either side of the ridge and when fiery projectiles 
fell all about, the post was not deserted. Inside, mounted upon 
piers penetrating the ground, are delicate instruments whose in- 
dicating hands, resting against record sheets of paper, trace every 
movement made by the shuddering mountain. One sign by which 
these great outbursts may almost always be forecast is the falling 
of water in the wells of the neighboring villages. 

The Vesuvian volcanic region, like that of Aetna, is partly land 
and partly sea, including all of the Bay of Naples, sometimes 
called "the crater," lying at the very foot of Vesuvius, with a cir- 
cuit of fifty-two miles and the metropolis at the extreme north- 
ern corner. 

The whole base of the mountain is skirted by a series of vil- 
lages where abide 100,000 souls — birds nesting in the cannon's 
mouth. Between these settlements and even above, within the 
jaws of the fiery demon, the tourist sees scattered huts, tent 
shaped of straw interwoven. 

A road twenty miles long, commencing at Naples, extends 



2G8 VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 

southeastwardly along the shore of the bay and then, winding 
inland, completely encircles the mountain. This is dotted with 
villages, all within hearing of the volcanic rumblings and bellow- 
ings. 

Four miles down the bay road from Naples lies Portici, its 
12,000 population dwelling upon lava thrown down to the sea by 
the eruption of 1631. On this black bed stands the royal palace, 
built by Charles III. in 1738. Resina, one mile further, is the 
favorite suburban seat of wealthy Neapolitans. Its 14,000 resi- 
dents dwell partly upon the ruins of Herculaneum and of Retina, 
to which latter city Pliny the elder set out during the great erup- 
tion which destroyed these cities and Pompeii. 

The colossal brazier of Mount Vesuvius dealt most awfully 
and destructively with the towns on its declivities and near its 
base. The inhabitants of those villages naturally became panic- 
stricken and abandoned their homes for the open, although the 
atmosphere was dense with volcanic ashes and the sulphur fumes 
of subterreanean fires. The people, so long as they dared remain 
near their homes, crowded the churches day and night, praying 
for deliverance from the impending peril, manifestations of which 
were hourly heard and felt in explosions which resembled a 
heavy cannonade, and in the tremblings of the earth, which were 
constantly recurring. 

The intense heat of the lava destroyed vegetation before the 
stream reached it. The peasants of Portici, at the west foot of 
Vesuvius, cleared their grounds of vineyards and trees in the 
effort to lessen the danger from the fire and resist the progress 
of the lava to the utmost. 

The streams of lava became resistless. They snapped like 
pipe stems the trunks of chestnut trees hundreds of years old 
and blighted with their torrid breath the blooms on the peach 
trees before the trees themselves had been reached. The molten 
streams did not spare the homes of the peasants, and when these 
have been razed they dash into the wells, as though seeking to 



VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 269 

slake their thirst, and, having- filled them, continue their course 
down the mountain side. 

Everywhere in the vicinity of the volcano pitiful scenes were 
witnessed — women tearing their hair in their grief and old men 
crying aloud at the loss of their beloved homesteads, while in 
the distance, in striking contrast, were the sapphire-colored 
Mediterranean, the violet-hued mountains of the Sorrento penin- 
sula and the island of Capri in the tranquil sea. 

The town of Bosco Trecase, on the mountain's southern de- 
clivity, had been transformed into a gray island of ruin by the 
ashes from the crater of the volcano. Torrents of liquid fire, re- 
sembling in the distance serpents with glittering yellow and black 
scales, coursed in all directions, amid rumbhngs, detonations and 
earth tremblings while a pall of sulphurous smoke that hovered 
over all made breathing difficult. 

While the inhabitants, driven before soldiers, were urged to 
seek safety in flight, fiery lava was invading their homes and the 
cemetery where their dead was buried. In about 48 hours after 
the eruptions began not a trace remained of Bosco Trecase, a 
city of 10,000 population. Several lads who were unharmed 
when the danger following the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius 
seemed most imminent subsequently ventured to walk on the 
cooling lava. They went too far and the crust broke under their 
weight. They were swallowed up before the helpless onlookers. 

About the same time the village of Bosco Reale, to the east- 
ward, became threatened, and the women of the village, weeping 
with fright, carried a statue of St. Anne as near as they could go 
to the flowing lava, imploring a miracle to stay the advance of 
the consuming stream. As the fiery tide persisted in advancing 
the statue had to be frequently moved backward. 

Ottajano, at the northeast foot of the mountain, and 12 miles 
from Naples, was in the path of destruction and the scenes there 
when the first victims were unearthed were most terrible. The 
po-sitions of the bodies showed that the victims had died while in 



270 VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 

a state of great terror, the faces being convulsed with fear. 
Three bodies were found in a confessional of one of the fallen 
churches. 

One body was that of an old woman who was sitting with her 
right arm raised as though to ward off the advancing danger. 
The second was that of a child about 8 years old. It was found 
dead in a position which would indicate that the child had fallen 
with a little dog close to it and had died with one arm raised 
across its face to protect itself and its pet from the crumbling 
ruins. The third body, that of a woman, was reduced to an un- 
recognizable mass. 

Other bodies which were found later caused such an impres- 
sion among the already frantic population that the authorities 
did not deem it advisable to permit any more bodies to be iden- 
tified for the time being. 

Five churches and ten houses fell under the weight of ashes 
and cinders, which lay over four feet deep on the ground. Many 
were killed and injured. 

One mile southward from the site of Bosco Trecase, on the 
shore of the Gulf of Naples, is Torre Annunziata, a city of 30,000 
inhabitants, and the streams of lava having almost surrounded 
it the inhabitants deserted their homes in terror and fled to Na^ 
pies and other points. This place was destroyed by an eruption 
in 1631. At the northern boundary of the town is a picturesque 
cypress-planted cemetery, and there the lava stream was halted 
and turned aside. It was as if the dead had effectually cried out 
to arrest the crushing river of flame, as at Catania the veil of St. 
Agathe is said to have stayed a similar stream from Mount Etna. 
The visit of the King and Queen of Italy and the Duke of 
Aosta to the town caused a rumor to be started by the excited 
people, and particularly among the panic-stricken women, tnat 
their presence had resulted in a miracle, and, singularly enough, 
shortly after the arrival of the sovereigns, and while the Kino- and 
Queen were trying to console the people, repeating frequently, 



VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 271 

"Courage! Be strong!" the wind suddenly changed and the at- 
mosphere, which up to that moment had been impregnated with 
sulphurous gas and suffocating fumes, cleared away and the sun 
burst forth. The stream of lava stopped its march, after having 
destroyed a section of the northeast part of the suburb. 

The air rang with benedictions for the King from his devoted 
subjects. Hope at once returned and the King and Queen were 
preparing to move on, but the people insisted that they remain, 
begging that they be not abandoned. The King and Queen 
wished to visit Torre Del Greco, which is only seven miles dis- 
tant from Naples, and was also in danger of being wiped out, and 
the people fled from it in dismay, amid a continued fall of sand 
and ashes, to points of reputed safety. This village had been 
eight times destroyed and as often rebuilt. A violent storm of 
sulphurous rain occurred at San Giuseppe, Vesuviana and Savi- 
ano. 

The town of Nola, an old place of 15,000 inhabitants, twenty- 
two miles from Naples, was almost buried under the shower of 
ashes coming from the crater, which were carried by the wind as 
far as the Adriatic sea. 

The inhabitants of the country in the vicinity of Caserta, a 
place of about 35,000 people, and termed the Versailles of Na- 
ples, were also endangered by cinder ashes and flowing lava. 

The village of San Gennaro was partially buried in sand and 
ashes and several houses were crushed. At that place three per- 
sons were killed and more than twenty injured. 

Sarno, Portici, Ciricello, Poggio and Morino became practi- 
cally uninhabitable because of the ashes and fumes, and the peo- 
ple fled from the towm. At Sarno three churches and the munici- 
pal buildings collapsed. The sand and cinders were six feet deep 
there and all the inhabitants sought safety in flight. 

Sarno is a town of some 10,000 people and is situated! about 
ten miles east of Mount Vesuvius. It contains an old castle, some 



272 VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 

sulphur baths and manufactories of paper, copper wares, cotton 
goods and silk fabrics. 

Almost equal to the devastation wrought by the lava was the 
damage done by cinders and ashes, which in increditable quan- 
tities had been carried great distances. This has caused the prac- 
tical destruction of San Guiseppe, a place of 6,000 inhabitants. 
All but 200 of the people had fled from- there and of these 200 
who had assembled in a church to attend mass about 100 were 
killed. 

.^ While the priest was performing his sacred office the roof fell 
in and all who were not killed were badly injured. These unfor- 
tunates were for hours without surgical or medical assistance. 
The only thing left standing in the church was a statue of St. 
Anne, the preservation of which the poor, homeless people ac- 
cepted as a miracle and promise of deliverance from their peril. 

A runaway train from San Guiseppe for Naples was derailed, 
owing to showers of stones from the crater. ' At some points 
near the mountain it was estimated that the sands and ashes 
reached a height. of nearly 150 feet. 

San Georgio, Cremona, Somma Vesuviana, Resina and 
other inland and coast towns not mentioned above, also suffered 
terrible devastation. 

The most of the buildings in the villages were of flimsy con- 
struction with flat roofs and so were but poorly calculated to 
bear the weight of ashes and cinders that fell upon them. Inevi- 
tably it was found that a considerable number of persons perished 
by the falling of their homes. 

National and local authorities from the first evidences of dan- 
ger attempted the evacuation of the threatened villages and 
towns, but adequate means to transport the inhabitants were 
lacking, although thousands of soldiers with artillery carts had 
been sent to the places where rhe sufTerers were most in need of 
assistance. 

At many places the people were suffering from panic and a 




> =a 



VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 273 

state of great confusion existed, which was added to by super- 
stition. "Some of the parish priests refused to open their churches 
to people who tried to obtain admittance, fearing that an earth- 
quake would destroy the buildings when full of people and thus 
increase the list of disasters. 

Crowds of women thereupon attacked the churches, pulled 
down the doors and took possession of the pictures and statues 
of the saints, which they carried about as a protection against 
death. 

Many people camped along the roads and in the fields, where 
they thought they would be safer than in the towns, defying 
the elements, though nearly blinded by ashes, wet to the skin by 
rain and terrorized by the gigantic curved flaming mass above, 
resembling a scimitar ready to fall upon them. 

The atmosphere during the eruptions was oppressive and 
yellow with ashes from Vesuvius, causing a feeling of appre- 
hension regarding what the future may hold in store for this 
city and its vicinity. The volcano was completely hidden in a 
dense mass of cinder-laden smoke, the only other signs of ac- 
tivity being frequent and very severe detonations and deep rum- 
blings. 

All the trains from and to Naples were delayed owing to the 
tracks being covered with cinders and telegraphic communica- 
tion with all points was badly congested. 

An excursion steamer attempting to reach Naples from the 
island of Capri had to return, as the passengers were being suff- 
ocated by the ashes. 

The quantity of ashes and cinders thrown during the erup- 
tions was unprecedented. An analysis showed this discharge 
to be chiefly composed of iron, sulphur and magnesia. When 
dry the whole region seemed to be under a gray sheet, but after 
a fall of rain it appeared to have been transformed into an im- 
mense lake of chocolate. 

During the activity of the mountain several new craters had 



274 VESUVIUS THREATENS NAPLES 

opened, especially on its north side and from v/hich streams of 
lava flooded the beautiful, prosperous and happy land lying on 
the southeast shores of the Gulf of Naples. 

The whole of Vesuvius district as far as Naples, Casserta 
and Castellammare became one vast desert. The high cone of 
the volcano was almost entirely destro3/-ed having been swallow- 
ed up, so that the height of the mountain is now several hundred 
feet less than formerly. Its falling in caused a great discharge 
of red hot stones, flame and smoke. 

Professor Di Lorenzo^ the scientist and specialist in the study 
of volcanoes, estimated that the smoke from Vesuvius had reach- 
ed the height of 25,000 feet. After one of the eruptions ashes 
from Vesuvius were noticeable in Sicily which is a large island 
near the extreme end of the peninsula on which Naples is situ- 
ated and some 200 miles from the crater. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES. 

Blistering Shov/ers of Hot Ashes— The People Frantic— Cry Every- 
where "When Will It End ?" — Atmosphere Charged with 
Electricity and Poisonous Fumes. 

FROM the first outburst and glare of the eruption all Naples 
became aroused and trembled with anticipations of horror, 
and when the hot ashes from the crater of Vesuvius began to fall 
in blistering show^ers upon it the entire populace was seized with 
a fear, which for days was constant, that at any moment they 
might be crushed into eternity by the awful outpourings from 
the cauldron of the mountain wdiich was in truth as veritable an 
inferno as that pictured by Dante. The streets for days, even up 
to the subsidence of the eruption, were packed with surging 
crowds, all of whom were fatigued from fear and loss of rest, yet 
there was hardly one in all the thousands who had not strength 
enough to pray to the Almighty for deliverance. 

At times the fall of sand and ashes appeared to be diminish- 
ing, but in the next instant it came again, apparently in greater 
force than before. The city became frantic from fear and every- 
where was heard: "When will it all end?" 

The people deserted their shops, the manufactories were near- 
ly all shut down, while the theaters, cafes and places of amuse- 
ments throughout the city were all closed. The crowds were in 
a temper for any excess and it would only require a spark to start 
a conflagration that would have almost equalled that of Vesuvius 
itself. 

When the coating of ashes and cinders covered the ground and 

275 



276 SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES 

roofs of buildings the people believed that their loved and beau- 
tiful Naples was doomed, and vv^ould be known thereafter only 
to archaeologists like other cities which Vesuvius in its wrath 
had overwhelmed. 

All railroad service out of the city was interrupted, the engi- 
neers refusing to take out their trains because of the darkness 
caused by the heavy fall of ashes. 

Troops were kept constantly clearing the roofs of buildings 
of the accumulation of sand and ashes which endangered the 
structures. The large glass-covered galleries throughout the 
city, were ordered closed lest the weight upon the roofs should 
cause them to collapse. 

Warships and soldiers which had been ordered to the city did 
effective service in succoring the most distressed and in the 
removal of refugees. Their presence was also potent in keeping 
up public confidence and maintaining order. No danger was too 
great for the troops to encounter and no fatigue too severe for 
them. They earned the gratitude and admiration of the people 
by their devotion to duty and bravery. Not only were they cred- 
ited with many acts of heroism but they displayed untiring per- 
severance in searching for the living and the dead among totter- 
ing walls, assisting fugitives to reach places of safety, giving aid 
to the wounded and in burying the dead, and all this while partly 
suffocated by the ash and cinder laden wind blowing from the 
volcano. 

The employes of a tobacco factory at Naples, thinking the 
roof was about to fall in fled in panic from the building and com- 
municated their fears to so many people outside that the police 
were compelled to interfere and restore order. Many persons 
were injured during the panic. 

The prisoners in the city jail mutinied owing to fright and 
succeeded in breaking open some of the doors inside the build- 
ing, but were finally subdued by the guards. 

King Victor Emmanuel and his Queen, the Duke and Duchess 



SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES 277 

of Aosta and others of the royal household were active in render- 
ing aid. The king placed the royal palace of Cappodimonti, sit- 
uated above this city, at the disposal of the wounded refugees. 
Firemen and ambulance corps were sent from Rome to aid the 
sufferers. 

The work of succor was hampered owing to delays to the rail- 
way service, which was interrupted by red-hot stones thrown to 
a height of 3,000 feet falling on the tracks. 

Not for a century had Naples been so threatened nor its peo- 
ple thrown into such a state of panic. Men, women and children 
tramped about the streets, raving that their deity had forgotten 
them and that the end of the world was in sight. 

Thousands of people flocked from the towns and farms on 
the slopes of the mountain and the problem of feeding and caring 
for the horde had grown serious. These people were left home- 
less by the streams of lava, which lapped up all their property in 
some cases within a half hour after the owners had fled. 

Earthquake shocks which shattered windows and cracked 
the walls of buildings added to the terror and when a shock 
occurred the entire population rushed to the streets in terror, 
many persons crying, "The Madonna has forsaken us; the end 
of the world has come." 

Vessels lying in the harbor rapidly put to sea with hundreds 
of the wealthy families, who chartered them outright, while many 
other ships left because of fear of tidal waves similar to those 
accompanying the terrific eruption of a century ago, which 
wrecked scores of vessels and drowned thousands of people here. 

The atmosphere of the city became heavily charged with elec- 
tricity, while breathing at times became almost impossible be- 
cause of the poisonous fumes and smoke. The detonations from 
the volcano resembled those of terrible explosions and the falling 
of the hot ashes made life indeed a burden for the Neapolitans. 

The churches of the city were open during the days and nights 
and were crowded with panic-stricken people. Members of the 



278 SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES 

clergy did their utmost to calm their fears, but the effects of 
their arguments went almost for naught when renewed earth- 
quake shocks were experienced. 

While Mount Vesuvius continued active volumes of cinders 
and ashes emitted from the volcano fell upon the buildings and 
streets driving the inhabitants of the city into a condition bor- 
dering on frenzy. All night people roamed the streets praying 
and crying that they might be spared. 

The collapse of the Mount Oliveto market, in which 200 or 
more persons were caught, many being crushed beyond recog- 
nition and the continuous rain of sand and ashes throughout the 
city sent terror to the heart of every Neapolitan. 

This market covered a plat of ground 600 feet square. The 
scenes in the vicinity of the ruins were agonizing, relatives of 
the victims clamoring to be allowed to go to their dead or dying. 

The people seemed demented. They surrounded the market, 
in many cases tearing their hair, cursing and screaming, "Oh, 
my husband is there!" or, "Bring out my child!" and endeavor- 
ing with their own hands to move heavy beams, from beneath 
which the groans of the injured were issuing. 

The cries for help were so heartrending that even rescuers 
were heard to sob aloud as they worked with feverish eagerness 
to save life or extract the bodies of the dead from the ruins. 

Some of the people about the market were heard to exclaim 
that a curse rested upon the people of Naples for repudiating 
their saints Monday, when Mount Vesuvius was in its most vio- 
lent mood. 

Even with the sun shining high in the heavens the light was 
a dim yellow, in the midst of which the few people who remained 
in the stricken towns, their clothing, hair and beards covered 
with ashes, moved about in the awful stillness of desolation like 
gray ghosts. 

Railway and tramway travel to and from Naples was much 
hampered by cinders and ash deposits, and telegraphic commun- 



SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES 279 

ication with the towns farthest in the danger zone was also for 
a time interrupted. 

The scenic effects varied from hour to hour during the erup- 
tions. At times in the north the sky was chocolate colored, low- 
ering and heavy, under which men and women with their hair 
and clothing covered with ashes moved above like gray ghosts. 
Fort San Martino, as it towered above the town, could only just 
be seen, while Castel Dell'ovo was boldly marked in light, seem- 
ing like silver against the brown sky. 

To the south beyond the smoke zone lay smiling, sunny Posil- 
ipo and its peninsula, wdiile far away glistened the sea a deep 
blue, on which the islands seemed to float in the glow of the 
setting sun. Adding to the strange picture, one of the French 
men of war, which arrived in the bay of Naples was so placed 
as to be half in the glow and half obscured by the belt of falling 
ashes. 

From the observatory of Mount Vesuvius, where Director 
Matteucci continued his work in behalf of science and humanity, 
the scene was one of great impressiveness. To reach the ob- 
servatory one had to walk for miles over hardened but hot lava 
covered with sand until he came to a point whence nothing could 
be seen but vast, gray reaches, sometimes flat and sometimes 
gathered intO' huge mounds which took on semblance of human 
faces. 

Above, the heavens were gray like the earth beneath and 
seemed just as hard and immovable. In all this lonely waste 
there was no sign of life or vegetation and no sound was heard 
except the low mutterings of the volcano. One seemed almost 
impelled to scream aloud to break the horrible stillness of a land 
seemingly forgotten both by God and man. 

In many of the towns some of the inhabitants went about 
hungry and with throats parched with smoke and dust, seem- 
ingly unable to tear themselves away from the ruins of what so 
recently were their homes. 



280 SCENES IN FRIGHTENED NAPLES 

The Italian minister of finance suspended the collection of 
taxes in the disturbed provinces and military authorities dis- 
tributed rations and placed huts and tents at the disposition of 
the homeless. 

The property loss from the volcanic outbreak has been placed 
at more than $25,000,000, while some have estimated that the 
number of persons ren-dered homeless amounted to nearly 150,- 
000. Probably less than one-half o^ that number would come 
near the exact figures. 

As an evidence of the wide-spread and far-reaching influences 
set in motion by the eruptions of Vesuvius it should be noted that 
Father Odenbach of St. Ignatius' college in Cleveland, O., the 
noted authority on seismic disturbances, reported that his 
microseismograph, the most dehcate instrument known for 
detecting the presence of earthquakes in any part of the globe, 
had plainly recorded the disturbances caused by the eruption of 
Vesuvius. The. lines made by the recorder, he said, had shown 
a wavy motion for several days, indicating a severe agitation in 
the earth's surface at a remote point. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

The Theories of Science on Seismic Convulsions — Volcanoes Likened 
to Boils on the Human Body through Which the Fires and 
Impurities of the Blood flanifest Themselves — Seepage of Ocean 
Waters through Crevices in the Rock Reach the Internal Fires 
of the Earth — Steam is Generated and an Explosion Follows — 
Geysers and Steam Boilers as Illustrations — Views of the 
World's Most Eminent Scientists Concerning the Causes of 
Eruption of Mount Pelee and La Soufriere. 

THE earth, like the human body, is subject to constitu- 
tional derangement. The fires and impurities of the 
blood manifest themselves in the shape of boils and eruptions 
upon the human body. The internal heat of the earth and 
the chemical changes which are constantly taking place in the 
interior of the globe, manifest themselves outwardly in the 
form of earthquakes and volcanoes. In other words, a vol- 
cano is a boil or eruption upon the earth's surface. 

Scientists have advanced many theories concerning the 
primary causes of volcanoes, and many explanations relating 
to the igneous matter discharged from their craters. Like the 
doctors who disagree in the diagnosis of a human malady, the 
geologists and volcanists are equally unable to agree in all 
details concerning this form of the earth's ailment. After all 
theories relating to the cause of volcanoes have been consid- 
ered, the one that is most tenable and is sustained by the 
largest number of scientific men is that which traces volcanic 
effects back to the old accepted cause of internal fires in the 
center of the earth. Only in this way can the molten streams 
of lava emitted by volcanoes be accounted for. 

281 



282 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

The youngest student of familiar science knows that heat 
generates an upv/ard and outward force, and Hke all other 
forces that it follow^s the path of least resistance. This force 
is always present in the internal regions of the earth, which 
for ages upon ages has been gradually cooling from its poles 
toward its center. When conditions occur by which it can 
outwardly manifest itself, it follows the natural law and 
escapes where the crust of the earth is thinnest. 

But something more than the mere presence of internal fire 
is necessary to account for volcanic action, although it may in a 
large degree account for minor seismic convulsions in the 
form of an earthquake. The elements which enter into the 
source of volcanic eruption are fire and v/ater. The charac- 
teristic phenomenon of a volcanic eruption is the steam which 
issues from the crater before the appearance of the molten 
lava, dust, ashes and scoria. This accepted theory is plainly 
illustrated in the eruption of a geyser, Vv^hich is merely a small 
water volcano. The water basin of a geyser is connected by 
a natural bore with a region of great internal heat, and as fast 
as the heat turns the water into steam, columns of steam and 
hot water are thrown up from the crater. 

One form of volcanic eruption, and its simplest form, is 
likewise illustrated in a boiler explosion. Observations of the 
most violent volcanic eruptions show them to be only tremen- 
dous boiler explosions at a great depth beneath the earth's 
surface, where a great quantity of water has been temporarily 
imprisoned and suddenly converted into steam. In minor 
eruptions the presence of steam is not noticeable in such 
quantities, which is simply because the amount of imprisoned 
water was small and the amount of steam generated was only 
sufficient to expel the volcanic dust and ashes which formed 
between the earth's surface and the internal fires of the vol- 
cano. The flovf of lava which follows violent eruptions is 
expelled by the outward and upv/ard force of the great internal 
heat, through the opening made by the steam which precedes it 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 283 

The two lines of volcanoes, one north and south, the other 
east and west, which intersect in the neighborhood of the West 
Indies, follow the courses where the crust of the earth is thin- 
nest and where great bodies of water lie on the shallowest 
parts of the ocean bed. 

The terrific heat of the earth's internal fires is sufficient to 
cause crevices leading from these bodies of water to the cen- 
tral fires of the volcano, and the character of the volcanic 
eruption is determined largely by the size of the crevices so 
created and the amount of water which finds its way through 
them. The temperature of these internal fires can only be 
guessed at, but some idea may be formed of their intense heat 
from the streams of lava em.itted from the volcano. These 
v^^ill sometimes run ten or twelve miles in the open air before 
cooling sufficiently to solidify. From this it will be seen that 
the fires are much hotter than are required merely to reduce 
the rock to a liquid form. From this fact, too, may be seen 
the instantaneous action by which the water seeping or flow- 
ing into the volcano's heart is converted into steam and a tre- 
mendous explosive power generated. 

The calamity which befell Martinique and St. Vincent will 
unquestionably lead to a fresh discussion of the causes of vol- 
canic disturbance. Not all of the phenomena involved therein 
are yet fully understood, and concerning some of them 
there are perceptible differences of opinion among experts. 
On at least one point, however, there is general agreement. 
At a depth of about thirty miles the internal heat of the earth 
is probably great enough to melt every known substance. 
Confinement may keep in a rigid condition the m.aterial which 
lies beneath the solid crust, but if an avenue of escape is once 
opened the stuff would soften and ooze upward. There is a 
growing tendency, moreover, to recognize the importance of 
gravitation in producing eruptions. The weight of several 
miles of rock is almost inconceivable, and it certainly ought to 
compel "potentially plastic" matter to rise through any crev- 



284 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

ice that might be newly formed. Russell, Gilbert and some 
other authorities regard this as the chief mechanical agent in 
an eruption, at least when there is a considerable outpouring 
of lava. 

As to the extent to which water operates there is some 
lack of harmony among volcanists. Shaler, Milne and others 
hold that substance largely, if not entirely, responsible for the 
trouble. They point to the fact that many volcanoes are situ- 
ated near the coast of continents or on islands, where leakage 
from the ocean may possibly occur. Russell, on the other 
hand, regards water not as the initial factor, but as an occa- 
sional, though important, reinforcement. He suspects that 
v/hen the molten rock has risen to a considerable distance it 
encounters that fluid, perhaps in a succession of pockets, and 
that steam is then suddenly generated. The explosive effects 
v^^hich ensue are of two kinds. By the expansion of the mois- 
ture which some of the lava contains the latter is reduced to a 
state of powder, and thus originate the enormous clouds of 
fine dust which are ejected. Shocks of greater or less vio- 
lence are also produced. The less severe ones no doubt sound 
like the discharge of artillery and give rise to tremors in the 
immediate vicinity. In extreme cases enough force is devel- 
oped to rend the walls of the volcano itself. Russell attributes 
the blowing up of Krakatoa to steam. The culminating 
episode of the Pelee eruption, though not resulting so disas- 
trously to the mountain, would seem to be due to the same 
immediate cause. To this particular explosion, too, it seems 
safe to assign the upheaval which excited a tidal wave. 

The precise manner in which the plastic material inside of 
the terrestrial shell gets access to the surface, is not entirely 
clear. Nevertheless, it is possible to get some light on the 
matter. It is now well known that in many places there are 
deep cracks, or "faults," in the earth's crust. Some of them in 
the remote past have been wide and deep enough to admit 
molten material from below. The Palisades of the Hudson 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 285 

are believed to have been formed by such an intrusion, the 
adjacent rock on the eastern face having since been worn 
away by the weather or other agents. It has been observed 
that many volcanoes are distributed along similar faults. 

The existence of a chain of volcanic islands in the West 
Indies suggests the probability that it follows a crack of great 
antiquity, though the issue of lava and ashes for several cen- 
turies may have been limited to a few isolated points. Just 
how these vents have been reopened is one of the most diffi- 
cult questions still left for investigation. Given a line of 
weakness in the rocks, though, and a susceptibility to fresh 
fracture is afforded. Professor McGee suggests that the over- 
loading of the ocean bed by silt from the Mississippi river or 
other sources may have been the immediately exciting cause 
of the recent outbreaks. Other geologists have found a similar 
explanation acceptable in the case of eruptions elsewhere. 
The theory has much to commend it to favor. 

The Martinique disaster already has drawn from geologists 
and volcanists many expressions of opinion, and explanations 
of volcanic phenomena which set forth in detail the causes 
and effects of volcanic eruptions, in particular, and seismic 
convulsions, in general. 

Dr. A. R. Crook, a professor in Northwestern University, 
has made a special study of volcanoes. He has made an ascent 
of the two highest in the world, and has climbed many others 
for purposes of study. He is an authority upon volcanog- 
raphy. 

"There are two great circles of volcanoes about the earth," 
said Professor Crook. "One girdles the earth north and 
south, extending through Tierra del Fuego (called 'land of 
fire' because of its volcanoes), Mexico, the Aleutian islands 
and down through Australia; the other east and west through 
Hawaii, Mexico, West Indies, Italy (including Mount Vesu- 
vi\^s and Asia Minor. 

'These two circles intersect at two points. One of these is 



286 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

the West Indies, which include Martinique, the scene of this 
terrible disaster; the other is in the islands of Java, Borneo 
and Sumatra. On the latter islands there are extinct volca- 
noes. On the former is the terrible Pelee. It is just at these 
points of intersection of the two volcanic rings that we expect 
unusual volcanic activity, and it is there that we find it. 

"There has been more or less theorizing as to volcanic dis- 
turbances moving in cycles, but it cannot be proved. One fact 
is established, and that is that a volcano is an explosion caused 
by water coming in contact with the molten mass below the 
surface of the earth. This is proved by the great clouds of 
steam that accompany the action. 

"The old theory that the very center of the earth is a 
molten mass," he says, "is no longer held." He asserts the 
latest idea is that the center of the earth is more rigid than 
glass, though less rigid than steel. About this there is more 
or less molten matter, and over all the surface crust of the 
earth. This molten matter causes the surface of the earth to 
give, to sag, and form what is called "wrinkling." When water 
comes in contact with the heated mass an explosion follows 
that finds its outlet through the places where there is least 
resistance, and the result is a volcano. 

"There is no part of the earth's surface which is exempt 
from earthquakes," said Professor Crook, "and there Is no 
regularity in their appearance. Volcanic eruptions are almost 
always preceded by earthquakes somewhere in the circle. 
Recently there were earthquakes in the City of Mexico in 
which many lives were lost. As it is impossible to predict 
when the next will take place, it is also impossible to tell 
where it will be. It will certainly be somewhere In the line of 
the two circles. 

"All this is of interest as showing that the earth is still in 
process of formation just as much as it was a billion years ago. 
We see the same thing in Yellowstone Park. There most 
decided changes have taken place even in the last eight years. 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 287 

Old Faithful, which used to play regularly every sixty minutes, 
now does so only once in twice the time." 

With reference to contributions to science, which might be 
expected from investigations at Martinique, Professor Crook 
said: 

"Even new elements might be discovered, and seismic 
theories either confirmed or disproved. A volcano always 
throws off a great variety of materials, hydrochloric and sul- 
phuric acids, iron, silica (sand), sulphur, calcium and mag- 
nesium. The lava is of two kinds. That which is easily 
fusible flows more rapidly than a horse can trot. A more 
viscous kind cools into shapes like ropes. The latter is com- 
mon in Hawaii. 

"The danger of living in proximity to a volcano is usually 
well known, but the iron oxides render the soil extremely fer- 
tile. This is seen in Sicily about ^Etna and Vesuvius. It is 
seen also in Martinique, where an area of forty miles square 
vvas occupied by 160,000 people. 

"Owing to the presence of the fumes of chlorine it is prob- 
able that many of the victims in St. Pierre were asphyxiated, 
and so died easily. Others doubtless were buried in ashes, 
like the Roman soldier in Pompeii, or were caught in some 
enclosed place which being surrounded by molten lava resulted 
in slow roasting. It is indeed a horrible disaster and one 
which we may well pray not to see duplicated. Science, how- 
ever, has no means of knowing that it may not occur again." 

Professor Robert T. Hill, of the United States Geological 
Survey, who visited the French West Indies on a tour of sci- 
entific inspection, says: 

"Across the throat of the Caribbean extends a chain of 
islands which arc really smoldering furnaces, with fires banked 
up, ever ready to break forth at some unexpected and inop- 
portune moment. This group, commencing with Saba, near 
Porto Rico, and ending with Grenada, consists of ancient ash 
heaps, piled up in times past by volcanic action. For nearly 



288 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

one hundred years there has been not the slightest sign of 
explosion and we had grown to class these volcanoes as 
extinct. 

"Volcanism is still one of the most inexplicable and pro- 
found problems which defy the power of geologists to explain, 
and one of its most singular peculiarities is the fact that it 
sometimes breaks forth simultaneously in widely distant por- 
tions of the earth. A sympathetic relation of this kind has 
long been known between Hecla and Vesuvius, and it is very 
probable that the Carib volcanoes have some such sympathetic 
relation with the volcanoes of Central America and southern 
Mexico. At the time of the explosion of St. Vincent other 
explosions preceded or followed it in northern South America 
and Central America. 

"The outburst of Mount Pelee, in Martinique, is appar- 
ently the culmination of a number of recent volcanic disturb- 
ances which have been unusually severe. Colima, in Mexico, 
was in eruption but a few months previous, while Chelpan- 
cingo, the capital of the State of Guerrero, was nearly 
destroyed by earthquakes which followed. 

"Only a few days before Mount Pelee erupted, the cities of 
Guatemala were shaken down by tremendous earthquakes." 

Professor N. S. Shaler, of Harvard University, a world 
authority on volcanic disturbances, says: 

"Volcanic outbreaks are merely the explosion of steam 
under high pressure — steam which is bound in rocks buried 
underneath the surface of the earth and there subjected to 
such tremendous heat that when the conditions are right its 
pent up energy breaks forth, and it shatters its stone prison 
walls into dust. 

"The common belief is that water enters the rocks during 
the crystallization period, and that these rocks, through the 
natural action of rivers and streams, become deposited in the 
bottom of the ocean. Here they lie for many ages, becoming 
buried deeper and deeper under masses of like sediment. 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 289 

which are constantly being washed down upon them from 
above. This process is called the blanketing process. 

"When the first layer has reached a depth of a few thou- 
sand feet the rocks which contain the water of crystallization 
are subjected to a terrific heat. This heat generates steam, 
which is held in a state of frightful tension in its rocky prison. 
"It is at these moments that volcanic eruptions occur. They 
result from wrinkling in the outer crust of the earth's surface — 
wrinklings caused by the constant shrinking of the earth itself 
and by the contraction of the outer surface as it settles on 
the plastic center underneath. Fissures are caused by these 
foldings, and as these fissures reach down into the earth the 
pressure is removed from the rocks and the compressed steam 
in them and it explodes with tremendous force. 

"The rocks containing the water are blown into dus' which 
sometimes is carried so high as to escape the power of the 
earth's attraction and float by itself through space. After the 
explosions have occurred lava pours forth. This is merely 
melted rock which overflows like water from a boiling kettle. 
But the explosion always precedes the flow, and one will notice 
that there is always an outpouring of dust before the lava comes." 

Professor W. J. McGee, of the Smithsonian Institution at 
Washington, says: "It may be that a violent earthquake 
tremor came after the volcanic eruption, but it does not neces- 
sarily follow that the two travel together. Oftentimes we hear 
of earth tremors with no apparent accompaniment. This was 
true of the Charleston earthquake in 1886. Earthquakes are 
caused by mysterious disturbances in the interior, of the earth. 
The most commonly accepted belief is that massive rock beds 
away down in the earth, at a depth of twelve miles or more, 
become disturbed from one cause or another, with the result 
that the disturbance is felt on the earth's surface, sometimes 
severely, sometimes faintly. 

"Probably the most violent earthquake in history occurred 
about ten years ago at Krakatoa. The explosion could be 



290 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

heard for more than one thousand miles, and the earth's 
tremors were felt for thousands of miles. The air was filled 
with particles of earth for months afterward. The air-waves 
following the explosion are believed to have passed two and 
one-half times around the globe. The face of the land and 
sea in the vicinity of the eruption was completely changed." 

Dr. E. Otis Hovey, professor in the Museum of Natural His- 
tory, New York, offers the following explanation of the Mar- 
tinique disaster: 

"A majority of volcanic eruptions are similar in cause and 
effect to a boiler explosion. It is now the accepted belief that 
sudden introduction of cold water on the great molten mass 
acts as would the pouring of water into a red hot boiler. It 
causes a great volum^e of steam, which must have an outlet. 
You can readily see how water could get into the crater, 
located as this one was — on an island, and not far from the 
coast. The volcanic chains crossed at that point. Such cross- 
ing would cause a tension of the crust of the earth, which 
might cause great fissures. If water v/ere to search out those 
fissures and reach the great molten mass below it is not hard 
to imagine what the result would be. There are tv/o classes 
of volcanoes — those which have explosive eruptions, like Vesu- 
vius and Krakatoa, and this latest one, and those of no explo- 
sive nature, like Mauna Loa and Kilauea, in Hawaii, which 
boil up and flow over. It is the explosive eruption which 
brings widespread destruction, and it is astonishing to learn of 
the tremendous power one of those eruptions unleashes." 

Professor John Milne, of London, the highest authority in 
the world on volcanic explosions, classifies eruptions into two 
grades: Those that build up very slowly. Those that destroy 
most rapidly. 

"The latter are the most dangerous to human life and the 
physical face of a country. Eruptions that build up mountains 
are periodical wellings over of molten lava, comparatively 
harmless. But in this building up, which may cover a period 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 291 

of centuries, natural volcanic vents are closed up and gases 
and blazing fires accumulate beneath that must eventually find 
the air. Sooner or later they must burst forth, and then the 
terrific disasters of the second class take place. It is the same 
cause that makes a boiler burst." 

Professor Milne was asked after Krakatoa's performance: 

"Is it likely that there are volcanoes in the world at pres- 
ent that have been quiet for a long time but will one day or 
another blow their heads off?" 

"It is almost certain there are." 

"Some in Europe?" 

"Many in Europe." 

"Some in the United States?" 

"Undoubtedly. " 

Mount Pelee of Martinique has verified the eminent author- 
ity's word. 

Professor Angelo Heilprin, of Philadelphia, the eminent 
geologist and authority on volcanology, declares there is dan- 
ger that all the West Indian reef islands will collapse and sink 
into the sea from the effects of the volcanic disturbances now 
in progress. More than that, he says, the Nicaraguan canal 
route is in danger because it is in the eruption zone. 

"In my opinion the volcano eruptions are not the only 
things to be feared," he continued. "It is altogether likely 
that the volcanic disturbance now going on may result in the 
collapse of the islands whose peaks spring into activity. The 
constant eruptions of rock, lava, and ashes, you must know, 
mean that a hole, as it were, is being made in the bosom of 
the earth. When this hole reaches a great size, that which is 
above will be without support, and then subsidence must fol- 
low. The volcanoes of Martinique and St. Vincent, and of the 
neighboring islands of the Caribbean, are situated in a region 
of extreme weakness of the earth's crust, which has its parallel 
in the Mediterranean basin on the opposite side of the Atlan- 
tic. This American region of weakness extends westward 



292 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

from the Lesser Antilles across the Gulf of Mexico into Mex- 
ico proper, where are located some of the loftiest volcanoes of 
the globe, Popocatepetl and Orizaba, both now in somnolent 
condition, and including the more westerly volcano of Colima, 
which has been almost continuously in eruption for ten years. 

"This same region of weakness includes nearly the whole 
of Central America. Volcanoes in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, 
and Guatemala have been repeatedly active, some almost to 
the present time, many with destructive effect, and it should 
be no surprise to have some of them burst out with the same 
vigor and intensity as Mount Pelee or the Soufriere." 

The National Geographic Society sent three geographers to 
make a special study of the eruptions in Martinique and St. 
Vincent: Professor Robert T. Hill of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey; Professor Israel C. Russell of Ann Arbor, 
Mich., and C. E. Borchgrevink, the noted Antarctic explorer. 

Professor Hovey, after a careful examination of the deso- 
lated areas in Martinique and St. Vincent, related important 
scientific phases of the great eruptions. Speaking first of the 
work of his companions and himself in St. Vincent, he said: 

"Collection of data concerning the eruption of La Sou- 
friere was immediately begun. The history of the eruption is 
practically that of the disturbance of 1851. Earthquakes 
occurred here about a year ago, and have occurred at inter- 
vals at various places in the West Indies and adjacent regions 
ever since. At least one resident of Kingstown — F. W. 
Griffiths — several months ago predicted that La Soufriere 
would soon break out. 

"Finally, on the day of the great eruption, a vast column 
of volcanic dust, cinders, blocks of lava and asphyxiating 
gases rose thousands of feet into the air, spreading in all direc- 
tions. A large portion of this, having reached the upper cur- 
rent, was carried eastward. This, falling, was again divided, 
and the cinders and deadly gases were swept by the lower 
winds back upon the eastward side of the mountain. The 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 293 

wrecked houses show this, the windows on the side toward the 
crater being unaffected, while those on the farther side were 
wrecked by the back draught up the mountain. 

"There was no wind on the morning of the great outburst, 
a fact which facilitated the devastation of the country. The 
hot, asphyxiating gases rolled out of the crater, and many 
were scorched and suffocated. Hot mud falling from the 
cloud above stuck to the flesh of the unfortunate victims, caus- 
ing bad wounds. Great blocks of stone were thrown out of 
the eastern side of the crater, which could be distinctly seen 
at a distance of four miles." 

Concerning the eruption of Mount Pelee, Mr. Hovey said: 
"An increase in the temperature of the lake in the old crater 
of Pelee was observed by visiting geologists as much as two 
years ago, while hot springs had long been known to exist near 
the western base of the mountain and four miles north of St. 
Pierre. The residents of Martinique, however, all considered 
the volcano extinct in spite of the eruption fifty-one years ago. 
The ground around the crater of Pelee was reported in 1901 
to consist of hot mud, showing that the increase of tempera- 
ture observed eighteen months earlier had continued. 

"Soon after the middle of April, this year, manifestations 
of renewed activity were more pronounced. Ashes began to 
fall in St. Pierre and heavy detonations were heard. The 
houses of the city shook frequently, suffocating gases filled the 
air at intervals, and the warning phenomena increased until 
they became very alarming* 

"The Guerin sugar factory, on Riviere Blanche, was over- 
whelmed on May 5 by a stream of liquid mud, which rushed 
down the west slope of the mountain with fearful rapidity. 
The pretty lake which occupied the crater of 185 1, on the 
southwest slope of the cone, about a mile from the extreme 
summit and a thousand feet below it, had disappeared, and a 
new crater had formed on its site, spreading death and destruc- 
tion on all sides. Three days later the eruption took place and 



294 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

devastated the city of St. Pierre, wiping out the inhabitants 
and changing a garden spot to a desert. 

"A vast column of steam and ashes rose to a height of four 
miles above the sea, as measured by the French artillerym.en 
at Fort de France. After this eruption the mountain quieted 
somewhat, but burst forth again at 5:15 o'clock on the morn- 
ing of May 20. This explosion was more violent than that 
which destroyed St. Pierre. 

"On this occasion the volume of steam and ashes rose to a 
height of seven miles, according to measurements made by 
Lieutenant McCormick. An examination of the stones which 
fell at Fort de France showed them to be of a variety of lava 
called hornblende and andesite. They were bits of the old 
lava forming a part of the cone. There was no pumice shown 
to me, but the dust and lapilli all seemed to be composed oi 
comminuted old rock. 

"It is evident that the tornado of suffocating gas which 
wrecked the buildings asphyxiated the people, then started 
fire, completing the ruin. This accords with the statement 
which has been made that asphyxiation of the inhabitants pre- 
ceded the burning of the city. The gas being sulphureted 
hydrogen, was ignited by lightning or the fires in the city. 
The sam.e tornado drove the ships in the roadstead to the 
bottom of the sea or burned them before they could escape. 

"Mud was formed In two ways — by the mixture in the 
atmosphere of dust and condensed steam and by cloudbursts 
on the upper dust-covered slopes of the cone washing down 
vast quantities of fine light dust. No flow of lava apparently 
has attended the eruption as yet, the purely explosive erup- 
tions thus far bringing no molten matter to the surface. The 
great emission of suffocating gas and the streams of mud are 
among the new features which Pelee has added to the scien- 
tific knowledge of volcanoes." 

Professor Hill was the first man who set foot in the area 
of craters, fissures, and fumaroles, and, because of his high 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 295 

position as a scientist, his story was valuable. He reported as 
follows: "There were three well marked zones: First, a cen- 
ter of annihilation, in which all life, vegetable and animal, 
was utterly destroyed — the greater northern part of St. Pierre 
was in this zone; second, a zone of singeing, blistering flame, 
which also was fatal to all life, killing all men and animals, 
burning the leaves on the trees, and scorching, but not utterly 
destroying, the trees themselves; third, a large outer, non- 
destructive zone of ashes, wherein some vegetation was 
injured. 

"The focus of annihilation was the new crater midway 
between the sea and the peak of Mount Pelee where now 
exists a new area of active volcanism, with hundreds of 
fumaroles or miniature volcanoes. The new crater is now 
vomiting black, hot mud, which is falling into the sea. Both 
craters, the old and the new, are active. 

"The destruction of St. Pierre was due to the new crater. 
The explosion had great superficial force, acting in radial 
directions, as is evidenced by the dismounting and carrying foi* 
yards the guns in the battery on the hill south of St. Pierre 
and the statue of the Virgin in the same locality, and also by 
the condition of the ruined houses in St. Pierre. According 
to the testimony of some persons there was an accompanying 
flame. Others think the incandescent cinders and the force 
of their ejection were sufficient to cause the destruction. This 
must be investigated. I am now following the nature of this." 

Professor Hill started on Monday, May 26, to visit the 
vicinity of Mount Pelee, and returned to Fort de France Wed- 
nesday morning, nearly exhausted. Professor Hill was near the 
ruins of St. Pierre on Monday night during the series of explo- 
sions from Mount Pelee, and was able to describe the volcanic 
eruption from close observation. Speaking personally of his 
expedition he said: "My attempt to examine the crater ot 
Mount Pelee has been futile. I succeeded, however, in getting 
close to Morne Rouge. At seven o'clock on Monday night I 



296 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES EXPLAINED 

witnessed, from a point near the ruins of St. Pierre, a frightful 
explosion from Mount Pelee and noted the accompanying 
phenomena. While these eruptions continue, no sane man 
should attempt to ascend to the crater of the volcano. Fol- 
lowing the salvos of detonations from the mountain, gigantic 
mushroom-shaped columns of smoke and cinders ascended 
into the clear, starlit sky, and then spread in a vast black sheet 
to the south and directly over my head. Through this sheet, 
which extended a distance of ten miles from the crater, vivid 
and awful lightning-like bolts flashed with alarming frequency. 
They followed distinct paths of ignition, but were different 
from lightning in that the bolts were horizontal and not per- 
pendicular. This is indisputable evidence of the explosive 
oxidation of the gases after they left the crater. This is a 
most important observation and explains in part the awful 
catastrophe. This phenomenon is entirely new in volcanic 
history. 

"I took many photographs, but do not hesitate to acknowl- 
edge that I was terrified. But I was not the only person so 
frightened. Two newspaper correspondents, who were close 
to Morne Rouge some hours before me, became scared, ran 
three miles down the mountain, and hastened into Fort de 
France. The people on the north end of the island are terrl 
fied and are fleeing with their cattle and effects. I spent 
Tuesday night in a house at Deux Choux with a crowd of 200 
frightened refugees. 

"Nearly all the phenomena of these volcanic outbreaks are 
new to science, and many of them have not yet been 
explained. The volcano is still intensely active, and I cannot 
make any predictions as to what it will do." 



CHAPTER XXIV 

TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Other Cities of the 
Plain — The Bible Account a Graphic Description of the Event- 
Ancient Writers Tell of Earthquakes and Volcanoes of Antiquity 

Discovery of Buried Cities of which no Records Remain — 

Formation of the Dead Sea— The Valley of the Jordan and Its 
Physical Characteristics. 

IN the history of earthquakes, nothing is more remarka- 
ble than the extreme fewness of those recorded before 
the beginning of the Christian era, in comparison with those 
that have been registered since that time. This may be partly 
accounted for by the fact that before the birth of Christ, there 
was but a small portion of the habitable surface of the globe 
known to those who were capable of handing down a record 
of natural events. The vast increase in the number of earth- 
quakes in recent times is, therefore, undoubtedly due to the 
enlargement of our kno'.dedge of the earth's surface, and to 
the greater freedom of communication now subsisting among 
mankind. 

Earthquakes might have been as frequent throughout the 
entire globe in ancient times as now; but the writers of the 
Bible, and the historians of Greece and Rome might have 
known nothing of their occurrence. Even at the present time, 
an earthquake might happen in Central Africa, or in Central 
Asia, of which we would never hear, and the recollection of 
which might die out among the natives in a few generations. 
In countries, too, which are thinly inhabited, and where 

297 



,298 TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 

there are no large cities to be overthrown, even great earth- 
quakes might happen almost unheeded. The few inhabitants 
might be av/e-struck at the time; but should they sustain no 
personal harm, the violence of the commotion and the inten- 
sity of their terror would soon fade from their memories. 

Dr. Daubeny, in his work on volcanoes, cites an example of 
this complete oblivion, even when the event must have 
occurred not far from the ancient center of civilization. The 
town of Lessa, between Rom.e and Naples, and not far from 
Gaeta, stands on an eminence composed of volcanic rocks. In 
digging the foundations for a house at this place some years 
ago, there were discovered, many feet beneath the present sur- 
face, a chamber with antique frescoes and the remains of an 
amphitheater. Yet there is notpnly no existing account of the 
destruction of a town on this site, but not even a tradition of 
any volcanic eruption in the neighborhood. 

The earthquake which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is 
not only the oldest on record, but one of the most remarkable. 
It was accompanied by a volcanic eruption, it upheaved a dis- 
trict of several hundred square leagues, and caused the subsi- 
dence of a tract of land not less extensive, altering the whole 
water system and the levels of the soil. The south of Pales- 
tine contained a splendid valley dotted with forests and flour- 
ishing cities. This was the valley of Siddim, in v/hich reigned 
the confederate sovereigns of Sodom, Gomorrah, Adniah, 
Zeboiim and Zoar. They had joined forces to resist the king 
of the Elam.ites, and they had just lost the decisive battle of 
the campaign when the catastrophe which destroyed the five 
cities and spread desolation in the flourishing valley took 
place. As the sun arose, the ground trembled and opened, 
red-hot stones and burning cinders, which fell like a storm of 
fire upon the surrounding country, being emitted from the 
yawning chasm. 

In a few words, the Bible relates the dread event: 

"And when the morning arose, the angels hastened Lot, 



TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 299 

saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy tv/o daughters, which are 
here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 

"And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, 
and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two 
daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought 
him forth and set him without the city. 

"And it cam.e to pass, when they had brought them forth 
abroad, that he said. Escape for thy life; look not behind 
thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the moun- 
tain lest thou be consumed. 

"And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord, behold 
now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast 
magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving 
my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil 
take me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, 
and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a 
little one?) and my soul shall live. 

"And he said unto him. See, I have accepted thee concern- 
ing this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for 
which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I 
cannot do anything until thou be come thither. 

"Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The 
sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 

"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah 
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he 
overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants 
of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 

"But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became 

a pillar cf salt. ^ 

"Ard Abraham got up early in the morning to the place 
where he stood before the Lord, and he looked toward Sodom 
and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and 
beheld, and lo, the smoke of the city went up as the smoke of a 

furnace." i • j 

Nothing could be more succinct or terse than this descrip- 



300 TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 

tion of the catastrophe. This was a sudden volcanic eruption 
Hke that which destroyed in one night the cities of Pompeii 
and Herculaneum. At the time of the convulsion in Palestine 
while clouds of ashes were emitted from the yawning abyss and 
fell in fiery showers upon the ground, a vast tract of country, 
comprising the five cities and some land to the south of them, 
was violently shaken and overturned. 

Of the valleys watered by the Jordan, that of Siddim was 
the largest and the most populous. All the southern part of 
this valley, with its woods, its cultivated fields, and its broad 
river, was upheaved. While upon the other side the plain sub- 
sided, and for a distance of a hundred leagues was transformed 
into a vast cavern of unknown depth. Upon that day the 
waters of the Jordan, suddenly arrested by the upheaval of 
the soil lower down the stream, must have flowed rapidly back 
toward their source, again to flow not less impetuously along 
their accustomed incline, and to fall into the abyss created by 
the subsidence of the valley and the break-up of the bed of 
the stream. 

When, after the disaster, the inhabitants of neighboring 
regions came to visit the scene of it, they found the whole 
aspect of the district altered. The valley of Siddim had 
ceased to exist, and an immense sheet of water covered the 
space which it once occupied. Beyond this vast reservoir, to 
the south, the Jordan, which formerly fertilized the country 
as far as the Red Sea, had also disappeared. The whole 
country was covered with lava, ashes and salt; all the culti- 
vated fields, the hamlets and villages, had been involved in the 
cataclysm. 

The record of this great catastrophe is preserved not only 
by Scripture, but by the living and spoken traditions of the 
East, all the legends of Syria, as well as ancient historians like 
Tacitus and Strabo, relating how Lake Asphaltite was formed 
during the terrible shock and how opulent cities were swal- 



TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 301 

lowed up in the abyss or destroyed by fire from out of the 
earth. 

But even if popular traditions had been forgotten, and if 
the writings of ancient authors had been lost, the very aspect 
of the country would suffice to show that it had suffered from 
some temble subterranean convulsion. As it was upon the 
morrow of the catastrophe itself, so it has remained with its 
calcined rocks, its blocks of salt, its masses of black lava, its 
rough ravines, its sulphurous springs, its boiling waters, its 
bituminous marshes, its riven mountains, and its vast Lake 
Asphaltite, which is the Dead Sea. 

This sea, the depth of which has never been sounded, 
evokes by its origin and its mysterious aspect, the dolorous 
image of death. Situated about 690 feet below the level of 
the ocean, in the depression of the soil caused by the earth- 
quake, its waters extend over an area of a hundred square 
leagues to the foot of the salt mountains and basaltic rocks 
which encircle it. One can detect no trace of vegetation or 
animal life; not a sound is heard upon its shores, impregnated 
with salt and bitumen; the birds avoid flying over its dreary 
surface from which emanate deadly effluvia, and nothing can 
exist in its bitter, salt, oily, and heavy waters. Not a breeze 
ever stirs the surface of this silent sea, nothing moves therein 
save the thick load of asphalt which now and again rises from 
the bottom to the surface and floats lazily on to the desolate 
strand. 

The Jordan has remained what it was in ancient times, the 
blessed stream, the vivifying artery of Palestine. Taking their 
source in the spotless snows and pure springs of Mount Her- 
mon, its waters have retained the azure hues of the sky and 
the clearness of crystal. Before the catastrophe, the Jordan, 
after having traversed and fertilized Palestine, found its way 
into the Gulf of Arabia, but now, as upon the morrow of the 
shock which broke up its bed, its waters are lost in the somber 
abyss of the Dead Sea. 



3:}2 TERRIBLE VOLCANIC DISASTERS OF THE PAST 

The Bible mentions an earthquake in Palestine in the 
reign of Ahab, and one in the reign of Uzziah, which rent the 
temple. The latter was an event so great that the chroniclers 
of the time used it in dating occurrences, and Amos speaks of 
what happened "two years before the earthquake." 

The same convulsions of nature are mentioned many other 
times in. the Bible, in connection with prophecy, revelation and 
the crucifixion. 

Nearly all writings about earthquakes prior to the last cen- 
tury tended to cultivate superstitious notions respecting them. 
Even Pliny, Herodotus, Livy, and the other classic writers, 
were quite ignorant of the true causes, and mythology entered 
into their speculations. In later times the investigation has 
become a science. The Chinese were pioneers in this direc- 
tion, having appointed an Imperial Commission in A.D. 136 to 
inquire into the subject. It is to be doubted, however, if what 
they reported would be considered as of much scientific value 
to-day. 

By this time it is estimated that in the libraries of the world 
are more than 2,000 works treating of earth-motions. The 
phenomena are taken quite out of the realm of superstition. 
By means of delicate instruments of various kinds, called seis- 
mometers, the direction of earth-m^ovements can be traced, 
and their force gauged, v/hile by means of a simple magnet 
with a metal piece attached to it, an earthquake can be fore- 
told. These instruments tell us that scarcely a day passes 
without an earthquake in some portion of the globe. The 
internal causes of these manifestations are ever active, what- 
ever the causes may be. 



CHAPTER XXV 

VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History — Roman Cities Over- 
whelmed — Scenes of Horror Described by Pliny, the Great 
Classic Writer, an Eye-Witness of the Disaster— Buried in 
Ashes and Lava — The Stricken Towns Preserved for Centuries 
and Excavated in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of 
the Life of 1800 Years Ago. 

MOUNT VESUVIUS, the world-famed volcano of south- 
ern Italy, seen as it is from every part of the city of 
Naples and its neighborhood, forms the most prominent feat- 
ure of that portion of the frightful and romantic Campanian 
coast. For many centuries it has been an object of the great- 
est interest, and certainly not the least of the many attractions 
of one of the most notable cities of Europe. Naples, with its 
bay constitutes as grand a panorama as any to be seen in the 
v/orld. The mountain is a link in the historical chain which 
binds us to the past, which takes us back to the days of the 
Roman Empire. Before the days of Titus it seems to have 
been unknown as a volcano, and its summit is supposed to 
have been crowned by a temple of Jupiter. 

In the year 25 A.D., Strabo, an eminent historian of the 
time, wrote: "About these places rises Vesuvius, well culti- 
vated and inhabited all round, except at its top, which is for 
the most part level, and entirely barren, ashy to the view, dis- 
playing cavernous hollows in cineritious rocks, which look as 
if they had been eaten by fire; so that we may suppose this 
spot to have been a volcano formerly, with burning craters, 
now extinguished for want of fuel." 

Though Strabo was a great historian, it is evident that he 

303 



304 VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

was not a prophet. The subsequent history of Vesuvius has 
shown that at varying periods the mountain has burst forth in 
great eruptive activity. 

Herculaneum was a city of great antiquity, its origin being 
ascribed by Greek tradition to Hercules, the celebrated hero 
of the mythological age of Greece; but it is not certain that it 
was actually founded by a Greek colony, though in the time 
of Sulla, who lived a hundred years before Christ, it was a 
municipal and fortified town. Situated on an elevated ground 
between two rivers, its position could not but be considered 
important, its port Retina being one of the best on the coast 
of Campania. Many villas of great splendor were owned in 
the neighborhood by Roman patricians; Servilia, the mother 
of Brutus, and the favorite mistress of Julius Caesar, resided 
here on an estate which he had given to her. 

Pompeii, too, was a very ancient city, and was probably 
founded by a Grecian colony; for what is considered its oldets 
building, a Greek temple, from its similarity to the Praestum 
tem.ples, fixes the date of construction with some certainty at 
about 650 B.C. This temple, by common consent, is stated to 
have been dedicated to Hercules, who, according to Solonus, 
landed at this spot with a procession of oxen. 

The situation of Pompeii possessed many local advantages. 
Upon the verge of the sea, at the mouth of the Sarno, with a 
fertile plain behind, like many an ancient Italian town, it 
united the conveniences of commerce with the security of a 
military station. According to Strabo, Pompeii was first occu- 
pied by the Oscans, subsequently by the Tyrrhenians and Pel- 
asgians, and afterwards by the Samnites, in whose hands it 
continued until it came into the possession of the Romans. 
The delightful position of the city, the genial climate of the 
locality, and its many attractions, caused it to become a 
favorite retreat of the wealthier Romans, who purchased 
estates in the neighborhood; Cicero, among others^ having a 
villa there. 



VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 305 

In A.D. 63, during the reign of Nero, an earthquake over- 
threw a considerable portion of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 
Scarcely had the inhabitants in some measure recovered from 
their alarm, and begun to rebuild their shattered edifices, 
when a still more terrible catastrophe occurred, and the first 
recorded eruption of Vesuvius, on the 23d of August, A.D. 79, 
completed the ruin of the two cities. 

Of this event we fortunately possess a singularly graphic 
description by one who was not only an eye-witness, but well 
qualified to observe and record its phenomena — Pliny, the 
Younger, whose narrative is contained in two letters addressed 
to the historian Tacitus. These letters run as follows: 

"Your request," he writes, "that I would ^send you an 
account of my uncle's death, in order to transmit a more exact 
relation of it to posterity, merits my acknowledgements; for 
should the calamity be celebrated by your pen, its memory, I 
feel assured, will be rendered imperishable. He was at that 
time, with the fleet under his command, at Misenum. On the 
24th of August, about one in the afternoon, my mother desired 
him to observe a cloud which seemed of unusual shape and 
dimensions. He had just returned from taking the benefit of 
the sun, and after a cold water bath and a slight repast, had 
retired to his study. He immediately arose, and proceeded to 
a rising ground, from whence he might more distinctly mark 
this very uncommon appearance. 

"At that distance it could not be clearly perceived from 
what mountain the cloud issued, but it was afterward ascer- 
tained to proceed from Mount Vesuvius. I cannot better 
describe its figure than by comparing it to that of a pine tree, 
for it shot up to a great height like a trunk, and extended itself 
at the top into a kind of branches; occasioned, I imagine, 
either by a sudden gust of air that impelled it, the force of 
which decreased as it advanced upward, or by the expansion 
of the cloud itself, when pressed back again by its own weight. 
Sometimes it appeared bright, and sometimes dark and 



306VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

spotted, as it became more or less impregnated with earth and 
cinders. This extraordinary phenomenon excited my uncle's 
philosophical curiosity to inquire into it more closely. He 
ordered a light vessel to be got ready for him, and invited me 
to accompany him if I pleased. I replied that I would rather 
continue my studies. 

"As he was leaving the house, a note was brought to him 
from Rectina, the wife of Bassus, who was in the utmost alarm 
at the imminent peril which threatened her; for her villa 
being situated at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, the only mode 
of escape was by the sea. She earnestly entreated him, there- 
fore, to hasten to her assistance. He accordingly changed his 
first design, and what he began out of curiosity, now continued 
out of heroism. Ordering the galleys to put to sea, he went 
on board, with an intention of assisting not only Rectina, but 
several others, for the villas are very numerous along that 
beautiful shore. Hastening to the very place which other 
people were abandoning in terror, he steered directly toward 
the point of danger, and with so much composure of mind 
that he was able to make and to dictate his observations on 
the changes and aspects of that dreadful scene. 

"He was now so nigh the mountain that the cinders, which 
grew thicker and hotter the nearer he approached, fell into 
the vessel, together with pumice-stones and black pieces of 
burning rock; and now the sudden ebb of the sea, and vast 
fragments rolling from the mountain, obstructed their nearer 
approach to the shore. Pausing to consider whether he should 
turn back again, to which he was advised by his pilot, he 
exclaimed, 'Fortune befriends the brave: carry me to Pom- 
ponianus.' 

"Pomponianus was then at Stabiae, separated by a gulf 
which the sea, after several windings, forms upon the shore. 
He had already sent his baggage on board; for though not at 
that time in actual danger, yet being within prospect of it, he 
was determined, if it drew nearer, to put to sea as soon as the 



Vesuvius and the destruction of pompeii 307 

wind should change. The wind was favorable, however, for 
carrying my uncle to Pomponianus, whom he found in the 
greatest consternation. He embraced him tenderly, encour- 
aging and counselling him to keep up his spirits; and still 
better to dissipate his alarm, he ordered, with an air of uncon- 
cern, the baths to be got ready. After having bathed, he sat 
down to supper with great cheerfulness, or, what was equally 
courageous, with all the semblance of it. 

"Meanwhile, the eruption from Mount Vesuvius broke 
forth in several places with great violence, and the darkness 
of the night contributed to render it still more visible and 
dreadful. But my uncle, to soothe the anxieties of his friend, 
declared it was only the burning of the villages, which the 
country people had abandoned to the flames. After this, he 
retired to rest; and it is certain he was so little discomposed 
as to fall into a deep sleep; for being somewhat corpulent, and 
breathing hard, those who attended without actually heard 
him snore. 

"The court which led to his apartment being nearly filled 
with stones and ashes, it would have been impossible for him, 
had he continued there longer, to have made his ^\ay out; it 
was thought proper, therefore, to awaken him. He got up 
and joined Pomponianus and the rest of his company who 
were not unconcerned enough to think of going to bed. They 
consulted together which course would be the more prudent: 
to trust to the houses, which now shook from side to side with 
frequent and violent concussions; or to escape to the open 
country, where the calcined stones and cinders fell in such 
quantities, as notwithstanding their lightness, to threaten 
destruction. In this dilemma they decided on the open coun- 
try, as offering the greater chance of safety; a resolution 
which, while the rest of the company hastily adopted it through 
their fears, my uncle embraced only after cool and deliber- 
ate consideration. Then they went forth, having pillows 
tied upon their heads with napkins; and this was their 



308 VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

sole defence against the storm of stones that fell around 
them. 

"It was now day everywhere else, but there a deeper dark- 
ness prevailed than in the obscurest night, though it was in 
some degree dissipated by torches and lights of various kinds. 
They thought proper to go down further upon the shore, to 
ascertain whether they might safely put out to sea; but found 
the waves still extremely high and boisterous. There my 
uncle, having drunk a draught or two of cold water, flung him- 
self down upon a cloth which was spread for him, when imme- 
diately the flames and their precurser, a strong stench of 
sulphur, dispersed the rest of the company, and compelled 
him to rise. He raised himself with the assistance of two of 
the servants, but instantly fell down dead; suffocated, I imag- 
ine by some gross and noxious vapor. As soon as it was light 
again, which was not until the third day after this melancholy 
accident, his body was found entire, and free from any sign of 
violence, exactly in the same posture that he fell, so that he 
looked more like one asleep than dead." 

In a second letter to Tacitus, Pliny in relating his own 
experiences, says: 

"Day was rapidly breaking, but the light was exceedingly 
faint and languid; the buildings all around us tottered; and 
though we stood upon open ground, yet, as the area was nar- 
row and confined, we could not remain without certain and 
formidable peril, and we therefore resolved to quit the town. 
The people followed us in a panic of alarm, and, as to a mind 
Jistracted with terror every suggestion seems more prudent 
than its own, pressed in great crowds about us in our way out. 

"As soon as we had reached a convenient distance from 
the houses, we stood still, in the midst of a perilous and most 
dreadful scene, The chariots which we had ordered to be 
drawn out c ^ciliated so violently, though upon level ground, 
that we could not keep them steady, even by supporting them 
with large stones. The sea seemed to roll back upon itself, 



VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 309 

and to be driven from its strands by the earth's convulsive 
throes; it is certain, at least, that the shore was considerably 
enlarged, and that several marine animals were left upon it. 
On the other side, a black and terrible cloud, bursting with an 
igneous serpentine vapor, darted out a long train of fire, 
resembling, but much larger than the flashes of lightning. 

"Soon after the black cloud seemed to descend and 
enshroud the whole ocean; as, in truth, it entirely concealed 
the island of Caprea and the headland of Misenum. The 
ashes now began to fall upon us, though in no considerable 
quantity. Turning my head, I perceived behind us a dense 
smoke, which came rolling in our track like a torrent. I pro- 
posed, while there was yet some light, to diverge from the 
highroad, lest my mother should be crushed to death in the 
dark by the crowd that followed us. Scarcely had we stepped 
aside when darkness overspread us; not the darkness of a 
cloudy night, or when there is no moon, but that of a chamber 
which is close shut, with all the lights extinct. 

"And then nothing could be heard but the shrieks of 
women, the cries of children, and the exclamations of men/. 
Some called aloud for their little ones, others for their par- 
ents, others for their husbands, being only able to distinguish 
persons by their voices; this man lamented his own fate, that 
man the fate of his famly; not a few wished to die out of very 
fear of death; many lifted their hands to the gods; but most 
imagined the last eternal night was come, which should 
destroy the world and the gods together. 

"At length, a glimmer of light appeared, which we imag- 
ined to be rather the foretoken of an approaching burst of 
flames, as in truth it was, than the return of day. The fire, 
however, having fallen at a distance from us, we were again 
immersed in dense darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes fell 
upon us, which we were compelled at times to shake off — 
otherwise we should have been crushed and buried in the heap. 

"After a while, this dreadful darkness gradually disap- 



310 VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

peared like a cloud of smoke; the actual day returned, and 
with it the sun, though very faintly, and as when an eclipse is 
coming on. Every object that presented itself to our eyes 
(which were extremely weakened) seemed changed, being cov- 
ered with a crust of white ashes, like a deep layer of snow. 
V/e returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as 
well as we could, and passed an anxious night between hope 
and fear, though, indeed, with a much larger share of the lat- 
ter; for the earthquake still continued, while several excited 
individuals ran up and down, augmenting their own and their 
friends' calamities by terrible predictions." 

The graphic accounts of Pliny the Younger have been con- 
firmed in every respect by scientific examination of the buried 
cities. The eruption was terrible in all its circumstances — the 
rolling mud, the cloud of darkness, the flashes of electric fire, 
the shaking earth — but yet more terrible in its novelty of char- 
acter and the seemingly wide range of its influence. These 
combined causes would appear to have exercised a fatal effect 
on the Pompeians, and but for them nearly all might have 
escaped. Thus, the amphitheatre was crowded when the 
catastrophe occurred, but only two or three skeletons have 
been found in it, which probably were those of gladiators 
already killed or wounded. The bold, the prompt, and the 
energetic' saved themselves by immediate flight; those who 
lingered through love or avarice, supine indifference, or palsy- 
ing fear, perished. 

Many sought refuge in the lower rooms or underground 
cellars of their houses, but there the steaming mud pursued 
and overtook them. Had it been otherwise, they must have 
died of hunger or suffocation, as all avenues of egress were 
absolutely blocked up. 

It is impossible to exaggerate the horrors of the last day of 
the doomed city. The rumbling of the earth beneath; the 
dense obscurity and murky shadow of the heaven above; the 
long, heavy roll of the convulsed sea; the strident noise of the 



VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 311 

vapors and gases escaping from the mountain-crater; the 
shifting electric lights, crimson, emerald green, lurid yellow, 
azure, blood red, which at intervals relieved the blackness, 
only to make it ghastlier than before; the hot, hissing show- 
ers which descended like a rain of fire; the clash and clang of 
meeting rocks and riven stones; the burning houses and flam- 
ing vineyards; the hurrying fugitives, with wan faces and 
straining eyeballs, calling on those they loved to follow them; 
the ashes, and cinders, and boiling mud, driving through the 
darkened streets, and pouring into the public places; above 
all, that fine, impalpable, but choking dust which entered 
everywhere, penetrating even to the lowest cellar, and against 
which human skill could devise no effectual protection; all 
these things must have combined into a whole of such unusual 
and such awful terror that the imagination cannot adequately 
realize it. The stoutest heart was appalled; the best-balanced 
mind lost its composure. The stern Roman soldier stood rig- 
idly at his post, content to die if discipline required it, but 
even his iron nerves quailed at the death and destruction 
around him. Many lost their reason, and wandered through 
the city, gibbering and shrieking lunatics. And none, we may 
be sure, who survived the peril, ever forgot the sights and 
scenes they had witnessed on that day of doom. 

Three days and nights were thus endured with all the 
anguish of suspense and uncertainty. On the fourth day the 
darkness, by degrees, began to clear away. The day 
appeared, the sun shining forth; but all nature ^ seemed 
changed. Buried beneath the lava lay temple and circus, the 
tribunal, the shrine, the frescoed wall, the bright mosaic floor; 
but there was neither life nor motion in either city of the 
dead, though the sea which once bore their argosies still shim- 
mered in the sunshine, and the mountain which accomplished 
their destruction still breathed forth smoke and fire. 

The scene was changed; all was over; smoke and vapor 
and showers had ceased, and Vesuvius had returned to its nor- 



312 VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 

mal slumber. Pompeii and Herculaneum were no more. In 
their place was a desolated plain, with no monuments visible, 
no house to be seen — nothing but a great surface of white 
ashes, which hardened and petrified, and finally disintegrated 
into soil upon which, years after, might be seen the fruitful 
vine, the waving corn, and wild flowers in all their loveliness 
and beauty, hiding the hideous tragedy of a bygone age. 

It was about the middle of the eighteenth century that sys- 
tematic excavations in the ashes that covered Pompeii began. 
Since that time the work has been slow, though continuous, 
and great progress has been made in disinterring the buried 
city. To-day it is a municipal museum of the Roman Empire 
as it was i,8oo years ago. The architecture is almost 
unmarred; the colors of decorated tiles on the walls are still 
bright; the wheel marks are fresh looking; the picture of 
domestic life as it was is complete, except for the people who 
were destroyed or driven from the city. No other place in all 
the world so completely portrays that period of the past to us 
as does Pompeii, overwhelmed by Vesuvius, hidden for cen- 
turies, and now once more in view to the world to-day. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

MOUNT /ETNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

A Volcano with a Record of Twentyfive Centuries — Seventy-eight 
Recorded Eruptions — Three Hundred Thousand Inhabitants 
Dwelling on the Slopes of the Mountain and in the Valleys at 
its Base — Stories of Earthquake Shock and Lava Flows— Tales 
of Destruction— Described by Ancient and Modern Writers and 
Eye-witnesses. 

MOUNT yETNA, one of the most celebrated volcanoes 
in the world, is situated on the eastern sea-board of 
Sicily. The ancient poets often alluded to it, and by some it 
was feigned to be the prison of the giant Euceladus or 
Typhon, by others the forge of Hephaestus. The flames pro- 
ceeded from the breath of Euceladus, the thunderous noises 
of the mountain were his groans, and when he turned upOxi 
his side, earthquakes shook the island. Pindar in his first 
Pythian ode for Hiero of ^tna, winner in the chariot race in 
474 B.C., exclaims: — He (Typhon) is fast bound by a pillar 
of the sky, even by snowy ^tna, nursing the whole year's 
length her dazzling snow. Whereout pure springs of unap- 
proachable fire are vomited from the inmost deptk: in the 
daytime the lava streams pour forth a lurid rush of smoke, 
but in the darkness a red rolling flame sweepeth rocks with 
uproar to the wide, deep sea. ^schylus (525-456 B.C.) speaks 
also of the "mighty Typhon." Thucydides (471-402 B.C.) 
alludes in the last lines of his third book to three early erup- 
tions of the mountain. Many other early writers speak of 
/Etn2i, among them Theocritus, Virgil, Ovid, Livy, Seneca, 
Lucan, Strabo, and Lucilius Junior. While the poets on the 

313 



314 MOUNT iETNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

one hand had invested ^tna with various supernatural attri- 
butes, and had made it the prison of a chained giant, and the 
workshop of a god, Lucretius and others endeavored to show 
that the eruptions and other phenomena of the mountain 
could be explained by the ordinary operations of nature. 

If we pass to more modern times we find mention of yEtna 
by Dante, Petrarch, Cardinal Bembo, and other middle age 
writers. In 1541 Fazello wrote a brief history of the moun- 
tain, and described an ascent. In 1591 Antonio Filoteo, who 
was born on ^tna, published a work in Venice, in which he 
describes an eruption which he witnessed in 1536. He asserts 
that the mountain was then, as now, divided into three 
"regions" — the first very arid, rugged, uneven, and full of 
broken rocks; the second covered with forests; and the third 
cultivated in the ordinary manner. 

The great eruption of 1669 was described at length by the 
naturalist Borelli in the year of its occurrence, and a brief 
account of it was given by the Earl of Winchelsea, English 
ambassador at Constantinople, who was returning home by 
way of the Straits of Messina at the time. As the eruption of 
1669 was the most considerable one of modern times, it 
attracted a great deal of attention, and was described by sev- 
eral eye-witnesses. 

The height of ^tna has been often determined. The 
earlier writers had very exaggerated notions on the subject, 
and a height of three and even four miles has been assigned. 
It must be borne in mind that the cone of a volcano is liable 
to variations in height at different periods, and a diminution 
of more than three hundred feet has occured during the 
course of a single eruption of ^tna, owing to the falling of 
the cone of cinders into the crater. During the last sixty 
years, however, the height of the mountain has been practic- 
ally constant at ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-four 
feet. 

There are two cities, Catania and Aci Reale, and sixty- 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 315 

three towns or villages on Mount y^tna. It Is far more thickly 
populated than any other part of Sicily or Italy. No less than 
300,000 people live on the mountain. 

A remarkable feature of ^tna is the large number of 
minor cones which are scattered over its sides. They look 
small in comparison with the great mass of the mountain, but 
in reality some of them are of large dimensions. 

The best period for making the ascent of ^tna is between 
June and September, after the melting of the winter snows, 
and before the falling of the autumnal rains. In winter there 
are frequently nine or ten miles of snow stretching from the 
summit downward, the paths are obliterated, and the guides 
sometimes refuse to accompany travelers. Moreover, violent 
storms often rage in the upper regions of the mountain, and 
the wind acquires a force which it is difficult to withstand, and 
is at the same time piercingly cold. 

A list of the eruptions of ^tna from the earliest times has 
been given by several writers. The first eruption within the 
historical period probably happened in the seventh century 
B.C.; the second occurred in the time of Pythagoras. The 
third eruption, which was in 477 B.C., is mentioned byThucyd- 
ides, and it must have been the same eruption to which 
Pindar and y^schylus allude. An eruption mentioned by 
Thucydides happened in the year 426 B.C. An outburst of 
lava took place from Monte di Moja, the most northerly of the 
minor cones of y^tna, in 396 B.C., and following the course of 
the river Acesines, now the Alcantara, entered the sea near 
the site of the Greek colony of Naxos (now Capo di Schiso). 
We have no record of any further eruption for 256 years, till 
the year 140 B.C. Six years later an eruption occurred, and 
the same authorities mention an eruption in the year 126 B.C. 
Four years later Katana was nearly destroyed by a new erup- 
tion. Another, of which we possess no details, occurred during 
the civil war between Csesar and Pompey, 49 B.C. Livy 
speaks of an earthquake which took place in 43 B.C., shortly 



316 MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

before the death of Caesar, which it was believed to portend. 
In 38 B.C. and 32 B.C. eruptions took place. 

The next eruption of which we hear is that mentioned by 
Suetonius in his life of Caligula. This was in 40 A.D. An 
eruption occurred in 72 A.D., after which yEtna was quiescent 
for nearly two centuries, but in the year 253, in the reign of 
the Emperor Decius, a violent eruption lasting nine days is 
recorded. According to Carrera and Photius, an eruption 
occurred in the 3^ear 420. We now find no further record for 
nearly four hundred years. Geoffrey of Viterbo states that 
there was an eruption in 812, when Charlemagne was in Mes- 
sina. After another long interval, in this case of more than 
three centuries and a half, the mountain again showed activ- 
ity. In February, 1169, one of the most disastrous eruptions 
on record took place. A violent earthquake, which was felt 
as far as Reggio, destroyed Catania in the course of a few 
minutes, burying fifteen thousand people beneath the ruins. 
It vv^as the vigil of the feast of St. Agatha, and the cathedral 
of Catania was crowded with people, who were all buried 
beneath the ruins, together with the bishops and forty-four 
Benedictine monks. The side of the cone of the great crater 
toward Taormina fell into the crater. 

There was a great eruption from the eastern side of the 
mountain in 1181. Lava descended in the same vicinity in 
1285. In 1329 Speziale was in Catania, and witnessed a very 
violent eruption, of which he has left us an account. On the 
evening of June 28th, about the hour of vespers, vEtna was 
strongly convulsed, terrible noises were emitted, and flames 
issued from the south side of the mountain. A new crater, 
Monte Lepre, opened above the rock of Munsarra, and 
emitted large quantities of dense black smoke. Soon after a 
torrent of lava poured from the crater, and red-hot masses 
of rock were projected into the air. Four years after the 
last eruption it is recorded by Silvaggio that a fresh out- 
burst took place. A manuscript preserved in the archives of 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORROR? 317 

the cathedral of Catania mentions an eruption which took 
place on August 6, 1371, which caused the destruction of 
numerous olive groves near the city. An eruption which 
lasted for twelve days commenced in November, 1408. A 
violent earthquake in 1444 caused the cone of the mountain to 
fall into the great crater. An eruption of short duration, of 
which we have no details, occurred in 1447; and after this 
ALins. was quiescent for eighty-nine years. 

Cardinal Bembo and Fazzello mention an eruption which 
took place toward the close of the fifteenth century. In 
March, 1536, a quantity of lava Issued from the great crater, 
and several new apertures opened near the summit of the 
mountain and emitted lava. 

A year later, In May, 1537, a fresh outburst occurred. A 
number of new mouths were opened on the south slope near 
La Fontanelle, and a quantity of lava burst forth which flowed 
In the direction of Catania, destroying a part of NIcolosi, and 
St. Antonio. In four days the lava ran fifteen miles. The 
cone of the great crater suddenly fell in, so as to become level 
with the Piano del Lago. The height of the mountain was 
thus diminished by 320 feet. Three new craters opened In 
November, 1566, on the northeast slope of the mountain. In 
1579, 1603, 1607, 1610, 1614, and 1619, unimportant eruptions 
occurred. In February, 1633, NIcolosi was partly destroyed 
by a violent earthquake, and In the following December? 
earthquakes became frequent around the mountain. 

In 1646 a new mouth opened on the north-east side, and 
fire years later several new mouths opened on the west side 
of the mountain and poured out vast volumes of lava which 
threatened to overwhelm Bronte. We have a more detailed 
account of the eruption of 1669 than any previous one. It 
was observed by many men of different nations, and there are 
a number of narratives regarding It. The eruption was in 
every respect one of the most terrible on record. On March 
8th, the sun was obscured and a whirlwind blew over the face 



318 MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

of the mountain; at the same time earthquakes were felt, and 
they continued to increase in violence for three days, at the 
end of which Nicolosi was converted into a heap of ruins. 

On the morning of the nth a fissure nearly twelve miles in 
length opened in the side of the mountain, and extended from 
the Piano di St. Leo to Monte Frumento, a mile from the 
summit. The fissure was only six feet wide, but it seemed to 
be of unknown depth, and a bright light proceeded from it. 
Six mouths opened in a line with the principal fissure, and dis- 
charged vast volumes of smoke, accompanied by low bellow- 
ing, which could be heard forty miles off. Toward the close 
of the day a crater opened about a mile below the others, and 
ejected red-hot stones to a considerable distance, and after- 
ward sand and ashes, which covered the country for a distance 
of sixty miles. 

The new crater soon vomited forth a torrent of lava, which 
presented a front of two miles. It encircled Monpilieri, and 
afterward flowed towardBelpasso, a town of 8,000 inhabitants, 
which was speedily destroyed. Seven mouths of fire opened 
around the new crater, and in three days united with it, form- 
ing one large crater 800 feet in diameter. The torrent of lava 
had continued to flow, and it destroyed the town of Mascalucia 
on March 23d. On the same day the crater cast up great 
quantities of sand, ashes, and scoriae, and formed above itself 
the great double coned hill called Monti Rossi, from the red 
color of the ashes of which it is mainly composed. On the 
25th very violent earthquakes occurred, and the cone of the 
great central crater was shaken down into the crater for the 
fifth time since the beginning of the first century A.D. The 
original current of lava had divided into three streams, one of 
which destroyed San Pietro, the second Camporotondo, and 
the third the lands about Mascalucia, and afterward the village 
of Misterbianco. Fourteen villages were afterward swept 
out of existence, and the lava made its way toward Catania. 
At Albanello, two miles from the city, it undermined a hill 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 319 

covered with corn fields, and carried it forward a considerable 
distance; a vineyard was also seen floating on its fiery surface. 

When the lava reached the walls of Catania, it accumula- 
ted without progression until it rose to the top of the wall, 
sixty feet in height, and it then fell over in a fiery cascade and 
overwhelmed a part of the city. Another portion of the same 
stream threw down 120 feet of the wall and carried death and 
destruction in its course. On April 23d the lava reached the 
sea, which it entered as a stream 1800 feet broad and forty 
feet deep. On reaching the sea the water, of course, began to 
boil violently, and clouds of steam arose, carrying with them 
particles of scoriae. The volume of lava emitted during this 
eruption amounted to many millions of cubic feet. Fewara 
considers that the length of the stream was at least fifteen 
miles, while its average width was between two and three 
miles, so that it covered at least forty square miles of sur- 
face. 

For a few years after this terrible eruption ^tna was 
quiescent, but in 1682 a new mouth opened on the east side of 
the mountain, and lava issued from it and rushed down the 
precipices of the Val del Bue. Early in January, 1693, clouds of 
black smoke poured from the great crater, and loud noises 
resembling the discharge of artillery, were heard. A violent 
earthquake followed, and Catania was shaken to the ground, 
burying 18,000 of its inhabitants. It is said that in all fifty 
cities and towns were destroyed in Sicily, together with 
approximately 100,000 inhabitants. 

The following year witnessed another eruption, but no seri- 
ous disaster resulted. In March, 1702, three mouths opened 
in the Contrada del Trifaglietto, near the head of the Val del 
Bue. In 1723, 1732, 1735, 1744, and 1747, slight eruptions 
occurred. Early in the year 1775 ^tna began to show signs 
of disturbance; a great column of black smoke issued from the 
crater, from which forked lightning was frequently emitted. 
Loud detonations were heard and two streams of lava issued 



320 MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

from the crater. A new mouth opened near Rocca di Mus- 
■^rra in the Val del Bue, four miles from the summit, and a 
quantity of lava was ejected from it. An extraordinary flood 
of water descended from Val del Bue, carrying all before it, 
and strewing its path with large blocks. Recupero estimated 
the volume of water at 16,000,000 cubic feet, probably a greater 
amount than could be furnished by the sudden melting of all 
the winter's snow on the mountain. It formed a channel two 
miles broad, and in some places thirty-four feet deep, and it 
flowed at the rate of a mile in a minute and a half during the 
flrst twelve miles of its course. The flood was probably pro- 
duced by the melting not only of the winter's snow, but also of 
older layers of ice, which were suddenly liquified by the per- 
meation of hot steam and lava, "and which had been previously 
preserved from melting by a deposit of sand and ashes, as in 
the case of the ancient glacier found near the summit of the 
mountain in 1828. 

In November, 1758, a smart shock of earthquake caused 
the cone of the great crater to fall in, but no eruption followed. 
In 1759, 1763, 1766, and 1780, eruptions were noted, and on May 
18, 1780, a fissure opened on the southwest side of the moun- 
tain and extended from the base of the great crater for seven 
miles, terminating in a new mouth from which a stream of 
lava eminated. This encountered the cone of Palmintelli in 
its course, and separated into two branches, each of which was 
about 4,000 feet wide. Other mouths opened later in the year, 
and emitted larger quantities of lava, while in 1781 and 1787 
there were slight eruptions. Five years later a fresh outbreak 
occurred; earthquakes were prevalent, and vast volumes of 
smoke were carried out to sea, seeming to form a gigantic 
bridge between Sicily and Africa. A torrent of lava flowed 
toward Aderno, and a second flowed into the Val del Bue as 
far as Zuccolaro. A pit called La Cisterna, forty feet in diam- 
eter, opened in the Piano del Lago near the great cone, and 
ejected smoke and masses of old lava saturated with water. 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 321 

Several mouths opened below the crater, and the country 
round about Zaffarana was desolated. 

In 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800, 1802, 1805, and 1808 slight erup- 
tions occurred. In March, 1809, no less than twenty-one 
mouths of fire opened between the summit of the mountain 
and Castiglione, and two years afterward more than thirty 
mouths opened in a line running eastward from the summit for 
five miles. They ejected jets of fire, accompanied by much 
smoke. In 1819 five new mouths of fire opened near the scene 
of the eruption of 181 1; three of these united into one large 
crater, and poured forth a quantity of lava into the Val del 
Bue. The lava flowed until it reached a nearly perpendicular 
precipice at the head of the valley of Calanna, over which it 
fell in a cascade, and being hardened by its descent, it was 
forced against the sides of the tufaceous rock at the bottom, 
so as to produce an extraordinary amount of abrasion, 
accompanied by clouds of dust worn off by the friction. Mr. 
Scrope observed that the lava flowed at the rate of about 
three feet an hour nine months after its emission. 

Eruptions occurred in 1831, 1832, 1838, and 1842. Near the 
end of the following year, fifteen mouths of fire opened near 
the crater of 1832, at a height of 7,000 feet above the sea. 
They began by discharging scoriae and sand, and afterward 
lava, which divided into three streams, the two outer of which 
soon came to a standstill, while the central stream continued 
to flow at the rapid rate of 180 feet a minute, the descent 
being an angle of 25°. The heat at a distance of 120 feet from 
the current was 90^ F. A new crater opened just above 
Bronte, and discharged lava which threatened the town, but it 
fortunately encountered Monte Vittoria, and was diverted into 
another course. While a number of the inhabitants of Bronte 
were watching the progress of the lava, the front of the 
stream was suddenly blown out as by an explosion of gunpow- 
der. In an instant red-hot masses were hurled in every 
direction, and a cloud of ^^apor enveloped everything. Thirty- 



322 MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRC^Ii--? 

six persons were killed on the spot, and twenty survived but a 
few hours. 

A very violent eruption, which lasted more than .Mne 
months, commenced on the 26th of August, 1852. It was fir^t 
witnessed by a party of six English tourists, v\Aho were ascend - 
ing the mountain from Nicolosi in order to witness the sun 
rise from the summit. As they approached the Casa Inglesi 
the crater commenced to give forth ashes and flames of fire. 
In a narrow defile they v/ere met by a violent hurricane, which 
overthrew both the mules and the riders, and forced them 
toward the precipices of Val del Bue. They sheltered them- 
selves beneath some masses of lava, when suddenly an earth- 
quake shook the mountain, and the mules fled in terror. 
They returned on foot toward daylight to Nicolosi, fortunately 
without having sustained injury. In the course of the nighl 
many rifts opened in that part of Val del Bue called the Balzo 
di Trifaglietto, and a great fissure opened at the base of Gian- 
nicola Grande, and a crater was thrown up, from which fo^ 
seventeen days showers of sand and scoriae were ejected. 

During the next day a quantity of lava flowed down into 
the Val del Bue, branching off so that one stream flowed to 
the foot of Mount Finocchio, while the other flowed to Mount 
Calanna. The eruption continued v/ith abated violence during 
the early months of 1853, and did not fully cease until May 
27th. The entire mass of lava ejected is estimated to be equal 
to an area six miles long by two miles broad, with an average 
depth of about tv/elve feet. 

In October, 1864, frequent shocks of earthquake were felt 
by the dv/ellers on ^tna. In January, 1865, clouds of smoke 
were emitted by the great crater, and roaring sounds were 
heard. On the night of the 30th a violent shock was felt on 
the northeast side of the mountain, and a mouth opened 
below Monte Frumento, from which lava was ejected. It 
flowed at the rate of about a mile a day, and ultimately divided 
into two streams. By March loth the new mouths of fire had 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 323 

increased to seven in number, and they were all situated along 
a line stretching down from the summit. The three upper 
craters gave forth loud detonations three or four times a min- 
ute. Since 1865, there have been occasional eruptions, but 
none of great duration, nor has there been any loss of life in 
consequence. 

It will be seen from the foregoing account that there is a 
great similarity in the general character of the eruptions of 
^tna. Earthquakes presage the outburst; loud explosions 
are heard; rifts open in the sides of the mountain; smoke, 
sand, ashes, and scoriae are discharged; the action localizes 
itself in one or more craters; cinders are thrown out and 
accumulate around the crater in a conical form; ultimately 
lava rises through the new cone, frequently breaking down 
one side of it where there is least resistance, and flowing over 
the surrounding country. Out of the seventy-eight eruptions 
mentioned above, a comparatively small number have been of 
extreme violence, while many of them have been of a slight 
and harmless character. 

Italy does not contain a more beautiful or fertile province 
than Calabria, the celebrated region which the ancients called 
Magna Grecia, where once flourished Crotona, Tarentum, 
Sybaris, and so many other prosperous cities. Situated 
between the volcanoes of Vesuvius and .■^tna, Calabria has 
always been much exposed to the destructive influence of 
earthquakes, but the most terrible shock ever felt in the prov- 
ince was that of February 5, 1783. The ground was agitated 
in all directions, swelling like the waves of the ocean. Nothing 
could withstand such shocks, and not a building upon the sur- 
face remained erect. The beautiful city of Messina, the com- 
mercial metropolis of Sicily, was reduced to a heap of ruins. 

Upon March 4, a fresh shock, almost as violent as the first, 
completed the work of destruction. The number of persons 
who perished in Calabria and Sicily during these two earth- 
quakes is estimated at 80,000 and 320 of the 365 towns and vil- 



324 MOUNT iETNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 

lages which Calabria contained were destroyed- The greater 
number of those who lost their lives were buried amid the ruins 
of the houses, but many perished in fires that were kindled in 
most of the towns, particularly in Oppido, where the flames 
were fed by great magazines of oil. Not a few, especially 
among the peasantry dwelling in the country, were suddenly 
engulfed in fissures. Many who were only half buried in the 
ruins, and who might have been saved had there been help al 
hand, were left to die a lingering death from cold and hunger. 
Four Augustine monks at Terranova perished thus miser- 
ably. Having taken refuge in a vaulted sacristy, they were 
entombed in it alive by the masses of rubbish, and lingered for 
four days, during which their cries for help could be heard, till 
death put an end to their sufferings. 

Of still more thrilling interest was the case of the Mar- 
chioness Spadara. Having fainted at the moment of the first 
great shock, she was lifted by her husband, who, bearing her 
in his arms, hurried with her to the harbor. Here, on recover- 
ing her senses, she observed that her infant boy had been left 
behind. Taking advantage of a moment when her husband 
was too much occupied to notice her, she darted off, and, run- 
ning back to her house, which was still standing, she snatched 
her babe from his cradle. Rushing with him in her arms 
toward the staircase, she found the stair had fallen, barring all 
further progress in that direction. She fled from room to 
room, chased by the falling materials, and at length reached a 
balcony as her last refuge. Holding up her infant, she 
implored the few passers-by for help; but they all, intent on 
securing their own safety, turned a deaf ear to her cries. 
Meanwhile her mansion had caught fire, and ere long the bal- 
cony, with the devoted lady still grasping her darling, was 
hurled into the devouring flames. 

A few cases are recorded of devotion similar to that of this 
heroic woman, but happily attended by more fortunate results. 
In the great majority of instances, however, the instinct of 



MOUNT ^TNA AND THE SICILIAN HORRORS 325 

self-preservation triumphed over every other feeling, rendering 
the wretched people callous to the dangers and sufferings of 
others. Still worse was the conduct of the half savage peas- 
antry. They hastened into the towns like vultures to their 
prey. Instead of helping the sufferers, they ransacked the 
smoking ruins for plunder, robbed the persons of the dead, 
and of those entangled alive among the rubbish. They robbed 
the very injured who would have paid them handsomely for 
rescuing them. At Polistena, a gentleman had been buried 
head downward beneath the ruins of his house, and when his 
servant saw what had happened he actually stole the silver 
buckles off his shoes, while his legs were in the air, and made 
off with them. The unfortunate gentleman, however, man- 
aged to rescue himself from his perilous position. 

Several cases occurred of persons being rescued alive from 
the ruins after a lapse of three, four, and even five days, and 
one on the seventh day after interment. Those who were 
thus rescued all declared that their direst sufferings were from 
thirst. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 

Sixty Thousand Lives Lost in a Few Moments— An Opulent and 
Populous Capital Destroyed — Graphic Account by an English 
rierchant Who Resided in the Stricken City — Tidal Waves 
Drown Thousands in the City Streets — Ships Engulfed in the 
Harbor — Criminals Rob and Burn — Terrible Desolation and 
Suffering. 

MORE than once in its history has Lisbon, the beautiful 
capital of Portugal, on the Tagus river, been devas- 
tated by earthquakes and tidal waves. Greatest of all these 
was the appalling disaster of 1755, when in a few minutes 
thousands upon thousands of the inhabitants were killed or 
drowned. An English merchant, Mr. Davy, who resided in 
the ill-fated city at that time, and was an eye-witness of the 
whole catastrophe, survived the event and v^rote to a London 
friend the following account of it. The narrative reproduced 
herewith brings the details before the reader with a force and 
simplicity which leaves no doubt of the exact truth. Mr. Davy 
wrote as follows: 

"On the morning of November ist I was seated in my 
apartment, just finishing a letter, when the papers and the 
table I was writing on began to tremble with a gentle motion, 
v*rhich rather surprised me, as I could not perceive a breath of 
wind stirring. Whilst I was reflecting with myself what this 
could be owing to, but without having the least apprehension 
of the real cause, the whole house began to shake from the 
very foundation, and a frightful noise came from under- 
ground, resembling the hollow, distant rumbling of thunder. 

326 



LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 327 

"Upon this I threv/ down my pen, and started upon my 
feet, remaining a moment in suspense, whether I should stay 
in the apartment or run into the street, as the danger in both 
places seemed equal. In a moment I w^as stunned with a most 
horrid crash, as if every edifice in the city had tumbled down 
at once. The house I was in shook with such violence that 
the upper stories immediately fell, and though my apartm^ent, 
which was on the first floor, did not then share the same fate, 
yet everything was thrown out of its place in such a manner 
that it was with no small difficulty I kept my feet, and 
expected nothing less than to be soon crushed to death, as the 
w^alls continued rocking to and fro, opening in several places; 
large stones falling down on every side from the cracks, and 
the ends of most of the rafters starting out from the roofs. 

"To add to this terrifying scene, the sky in a moment 
became so gloomy that I could now distinguish no particular 
object; it was an Egyptian darkness indeed, such as might be 
felt. 

"As soon as the gloom began to disperse and the violence 
of the shock seemed pretty much abated, the first object I per- 
ceived in the room was a woman sitting on the floor with an 
infant in her arms, all covered with dust, pale and trembling. 
I asked her how she got hither, but her consternation was so 
great that she could give me no account of her escape. I 
suppose that when the tremor first began, she ran out of her 
own house, and finding herself in such imminent danger from 
the falling stones, retired into the door of mine, which was 
almost contiguous to hers, for shelter, and when the shock 
increased, which filled the door with dust and rubbish, she ran 
upstairs into my apartment. The poor creature asked me, in' 
the utmost agony, if I did not think the world was at an end; 
at the same time she complained of being choked, and 
begged me to procure her some water. Upon this I went to a 
closet where I kept a large jar of water, but found it broken 
to pieces. I told her she must not now think of quenching her 



328 LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 

thirst, but saving her life, as the house was just faUIng on our 
heads, and if a second shock came, would certainly bury us 
both. 

"I hurried down stairs, the woman with me, holding by my 
arm, and made directly to that end of the street which opens 
to the Tagus. Finding the passage this way entirely blocked 
up with the fallen houses to the height of their second stories, 
I turned back to the other end which led to the main street, 
and there helped the woman over a vast heap of ruins, with 
no small hazard to my own life; just as we were going into this 
street, as there was one part that I could not well climb over 
without the assistance of my hands as well as feet, I desired 
her to let go her hold, which she did, remaining two or three 
feet behind me, at which instant there fell a vast stone from a 
tottering wall, and crushed both her and the child in pieces. 
So dismal a spectacle at any other time would have affected 
me in the highest degree, but the dread I was in of sharing 
the same fate myself, and the many instances of the same kind 
which presented themselves all around, were too shocking to 
make me dwell a moment on this single object. 

"I now had a long, narrow street to pass, with the houses on 
each side four or five stories high, all very old, the greater 
part already thrown down, or continually falling, and threat- 
ening the passengers with inevitable death at every step, num- 
bers of whom lay killed before me, or what I thought far more 
deplorable, so bruised and wounded that they could not stir 
to help themselves. For my own part, as destruction appeared 
to me unavoidable, I only wished I might be made an end of 
at once, and not have my limbs broken, in which case I could 
expect nothing else but to be left upon the spot, lingering in 
misery, like those poor unhappy wretches, without receiving 
the least succor from any person. 

"As self-preservation, however, is the first law of nature, 
these sad thoughts did not so far prevail as to make me 
totally dispair. I proceeded on as fast as I conveniently could, 



LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 329 

though with the utmost caution, and having at length got clear 
of this horrid passage, I fotand myself safe and unhurt in the 
large open space before St. Paul's church, which had been 
thrown down a few minutes before, and buried a great part of 
the congregation. Here I stood for some time, considering 
what I should do, and not thinking myself safe in this situa- 
tion, I came to the resolution of climbing over the ruins of the 
west end of the church, in order to get to the river's side, that 
I might be removed as far as possible from the tottering 
houses, in case of a second shock. 

"This, with some difficulty, I accomplished, and here I 
found a prodigious concourse of people of both sexes, and of 
all ranks and conditions. There were several priests who had 
run from the altars in their sacerdotal vestments; ladies half 
dressed, and some without shoes; all these, whom their 
mutual dangers had here assembled as to a place of safety, 
were on their knees at prayer, with the terrors of death in 
their countenances. 

"In the midst of these devotions the second great shock 
came on, little less violent than the first, and completed the 
ruin of those buildings which had been already much shat- 
tered. The consternation now became so universal, that the 
shrieks and cries of the frightened people could be distinctly 
heard from the top of St. Catherine's hill, a considerable dis- 
tance off, whither a vast number of the populace had likewise 
retreated. At the same time we could hear the fall of the 
parish church there, whereby many persons were killed on the 
spot, and others mortally wounded. On a sudden I heard a 
general outcry, 'The sea is coming in, we are lost!' Turning 
my eyes toward the river, which at this place is nearly four 
miles broad, I could perceive it heaving and swelling in a most 
unaccountable manner, as no wind was stirring. In an instant 
there appeared, at some small distance, a large body of water, 
rising -is it were like a mountain. It came on foaming and 
roaring, and rushed toward the shore with such impetuosity, 



330 LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 

that we all immediately ran for our lives, as fast as possible; 
many were actually swept away, and the rest were above their 
waists in water, at a good distance from the bank. 

"For my own part, I had the narrowest escape, and should 
certainly have been lost, had I not grasped a large beam that 
lay on the ground, till the water returned to its channel, which 
it did with equal rapidity. As there now appeared at least as 
much danger from the sea as the land, and I scarce knew 
whither to retire for shelter, I took a sudden resolution of 
returning, with my clothes all dripping, to the area of St. Paul's. 
Here I stood some time, and observed the ships tumbling and 
tossing about as in a violent storm. Some had broken their 
cables and were carried to the other side of the Tagus; others 
were whirled around with incredible swiftness; several large 
boats were turned keel upward; and all this without any wind, 
which seemed the more astonishing. 

"It was at the time of which I am now writing, that the fine 
new quay, built entirely of rough marble, at an immense 
expense, was entirely swallo\^ed up, with all the people on it, 
who had fled thither for safety, and had reason to think them- 
selves out of danger in such a place. At the same time a great 
number of boats and small vessels, anchored near it, all like- 
wise full of people, who had retired thither for the same pur- 
pose, were all swallowed up, as in a whirlpool, and never more 
appeared. 

"This last dreadful incident I did not see with my own eyes, 
as it passed three or four stone-throws from the spot where I 
then was, but I had the account as here given from several 
masters of ships, who were anchored within tv\^o or three hun- 
dred yards of the quay, and saw the whole catastrophe. One 
of them in particular informed me that when the second shock 
came on, he could perceive the whole city waving backwards 
and forwards, like the sea when the wind first begins to rise; 
that the agitation of the earth was so great, even under the 
river, that it threw up his large anchor from the mooring, 



LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 331 

which swam, as he termed it, on the surface of the water; that 
immediately upon this extraordinary concussion, the river rose 
at once nearly twenty feet, and in a moment subsided; at 
which instant he saw the quay, with the whole concourse of 
people upon it, sink down, and at the same time everyone of 
the boats and vessels that were near it were drawn into the 
cavity, which he supposes instantl}^ closed upon them, Inas- 
much as not the least sign of a wreck was ever seen after- 
wards. 

"I had not been long in the area of St. Paul's, when I telt 
the third shock, which though somewhat less violent than the 
two former, the sea rushed in again and retired with the same 
rapidity, and I remained up to my knees in water, though I 
had gotten upon a small eminence at some distance from the 
river, with the ruins of several intervening houses to break its 
force. At this time I took notice the waters retired so Impet- 
uously, that some vessels were left quite dry, which rode in 
seven-fathom water. The river thus continued alternately 
rushing on and retiring several times, in such sort that it was 
justly dreaded Lisbon vv^ould now meet the same fate which a 
few years ago had befallen the city of Lima. The master of a 
vessel which arrived here just after the first of Novemiber 
assured me that he felt the shock above forty leagues at sea so 
sensibly that he really concluded that he had struck upon a 
rock, till he threw out the lead and could find no bottom; nor 
could he possibly guess at the cause till the melancholy sight 
of this desolate city left him no room to doubt it. 

"I was now in such a situation that I knew not which way 
to turn; I v/as faint from the constant fatigue I had undergone, 
and I had not yet broken my fast. Yet this had not so much 
effect on me as the anxiety I was under for a particular friend, 
v/ho lodged at the top of a very high house in the heart of the 
city, and being a stranger to the language, could not but be in 
the utmost danger. I determined to go and learn, if possible, 
what had become of him. I proceeded, with some hazard, to 



332 LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 

the large space before the convent of Corpo Santo, which had 
been thrown down, and buried a great number of people, 
Passing through the new square of the palace, I found It full 
of coaches, chariots, chaises, horses and mules, deserted by 
their drivers and attendants, and left to starve. 

"From this square the way led to my friend's lodgings 
through a long, steep and narrow street. The new scenes of 
horror I met with here exceed all description; nothing could 
be heard but sighs and groans. I did not meet with a soul in 
the passage who was not bewailing the loss of his nearest rela- 
tions and dearest friends. I could hardly take a single step 
without treading on the dead or dying. In some places lay 
coaches, with their masters, horses and riders almost crushed 
in pieces; here, mothers with infants In their arms; there, 
ladies richly dressed, priests, friars, gentlemen, mechanics, 
either in the same condition or just expiring; some had their 
backs broken, others great stones on their breasts; some lay 
almost burled In the rubbish, and crying out In vain for succor, 
were left to perish with the rest. 

"At length I arrived at the spot opposite to the house 
where my friend, for whom I was so anxious, resided; and 
finding this as well as the other contiguous buildings thrown 
down, I gave him up for lost, and thought only of saving my 
own life. 

"In less than an hour I reached a public house, kept by a 
Mr. Morley, near the English burying-ground, about a half a 
mile from the city, where I found a great number of my coun- 
trymen in the same wretched circumstances as myself. 

"Perhaps you may think the present doleful subject here 
concluded; but the horrors of the day are sufficient to fill a 
volume. As soon as It grew dark, another scene presented 
Itself, little less shocking than those already described. The 
whole city appeared in a blaze, which was so bright that I 
could easily see to read by it. It may be said without exagger- 
ation that It was on fire in at least a hundred different places 



LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 333 

at once, and thus continued burning for six days together, 
without intermission, or without the least attempt being made 
to stop its progress. 

"It went on consuming everything the earthquake had 
spared, and the people were so dejected and terrified that few 
or none had courage enough to venture down to save any part 
of their substance. I could never learn that this terrible fire 
was owing to any subterraneous eruption, as some reported, 
but to three causes, which all concurring at the same time, will 
naturally account for the prodigious havoc it made. The first 
of November being All Saint's Day, a high festival among the 
Portuguese, every altar in every church and chapel, some of 
v/hich have more than twenty, was illuminated with a number 
of wax tapers and lamps, as customary; these setting fire to 
the curtains and timber work that fell with the shock, the con- 
flagration soon spread to the neighboring houses, and being 
there joined with the fires in the kitchen chimneys, increased 
to such a degree, that it might easily have destroyed the whole 
city, though no other cause had concurred, especially as it met 
with no interruption. 

"But what would appear almost incredible to you, were the 
fact less notorious and public, is, that a gang of hardened vil- 
lains, who had escaped from prison when the wall fell, were 
busily employed in setting fire to those buildings, which stood 
some chance of escaping the general destruction. I cannot 
conceive what could have induced them to this hellish work, 
except to add to the horror and confusion, that they might, by 
this means, have the better opportunity of plundering with 
security. But there was no necessity for taking this trouble, 
as they might certainly have done their business without it, 
since the whole city was so deserted before night, that I 
believe not a soul remained in it, except those execrable vil- 
lains, and others of the same stamp. It is possible some of 
them might have had other motives besides robbing, as one in 
particular being apprehended — they say he was a Moor, con- 



334 LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 

demned to the galleys — confessed at the gallows that he had 
set fire to the King's palace V\rith his own hand; at the same 
time glorying In the action, and declaring w^ith his last breath, 
that he hoped to have burnt ail the royal family. 

"The whole number of persons that perished, including 
those Vv^ho were burnt or afterwards crushed to death whilst 
digging In the ruins, is supposed, on the lowest calculation, to 
amount to more than sixty thousand; and though the damage 
in other respects cannot be computed, yet you may form some 
Idea of it, when I assure you that this extensive and opulent 
city is now nothing but a vast heap of ruins; that the rich and 
poor are at present upon a level; some thousands of families 
which but the day before had been in easy circumstances, 
being now scattered about in the fields, wanting every conve- 
nience of life, and finding none able to relieve them. 

"In order that you may partly realize the prodigious havoc 
that has been made, I will mention one more instance among 
the many that have come under my notice. There was a high 
arched passage, like one of our old city gates, fronting the 
west door of the ancient cathedral; on the left hand was the 
famous church of St. Antonio, and on the right, some private 
houses several stories high. The whole area surrounded by 
all these buildings did not much exceed one of our small 
courts In London. At the first shock, num.bers of people v/ho 
were then passing under the arch, fied into the middle of this 
area for shelter; those in the two churches, as many as could 
possibly get out, did the same. At this instant, the arched 
gate-way, with the fronts of the two churches and contiguous 
buildings, all inclined one toward another with the sudden vio- 
lence of the shock, fell down and buried every soul as they 
were standing here crowded together," 

The portion of the earth's surface convulsed by this earth- 
quake is estimated by Humboldt to have been four times 
greater than the whole extent of Europe. The shocks were 
felt not only over the Spanish peninsula, but in Morocco and 



LISBON EARTHQUAKE SCOURGED 335 

Algeria they were nearly as violent. At a place about twenty- 
four miles from the city of Morocco, a great fissure opened in 
the earth, and the entire village, with all its inhabitants, 
upward of 8,000 in number, were precipitated into the gulf, 
which immediately closed over Its prey. 

The earthquake was also felt as far to the westward as the 
West Indian islands of Antigua, Barbados, and Martinique, 
v^here the tide, which usually rises about two feet, w^as sud- 
denly elevated above twenty feet, the water being at the same 
time as black as ink. Toward the northwest the shock was 
perceptible as far as Canada, whose great lakes were all dis- 
turbed. Toward the east it extended to the Alps, to Thurin* 
gia, and to Toplitz, where the hot springs were first dried up, 
and soon after overflowed with ochreous water. In Scotland 
the waters both of Loch Lomond and Loch Ness rose and fell 
repeatedly. Tov/ard the northeast, the shock was sensibly felt 
throughout the flat country of northern Germany, in Sweden, 
and along the shores of the Baltic. 

At sea, 140 miles to the southv/ard of Lisbon, the ship Denia 
Vv^as strained as if she had struck on a rock; the seams of the 
deck opened, and the compass was upset. On board another 
ship, 120 miles to the westward of Cape St. Vincent, the shock 
was so violent as to toss the men up perpendicularly from the 
deck. The great sea wave rose along the whole southern and 
western coasts of Portugal and Spain; and at Cadiz it Is said 
to have risen to a height of sixty feet. At Tangier, on the 
northern coast of Africa, the tide rose and fell eighteen times 
In rapid succession. At Funchal in Madeira, Vvrhere the usual 
ebb and flow of the tide is seven feet, It being half tide at the 
time, the great wave rolled in, and at once raised the level of 
the water fifteen feet above high water mark. This immense 
tide, rushing into the city, caused great damage, and several 
other parts of the island were similarly flooded. The tide vi^as 
also suddenly raised on the southern coast of Ireland; the 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

JAPAN AND ITS DISASTROUS EARTHQUAKES 
AND VOLCANOES 

The Island Empire Subject to Convulsions of Nature — Legends of 
Ancient Disturbances — Famous Volcano of Fuji-yama Formed in 
One Night — More Than One Hundred Volcanoes in Japan — Two 
Hundred and Thirty =two Eruptions Recorded — Devastation of 
Thriving Towns and Busy Cities — The Capital a Sufferer — Scenes 
of Desolation after the Most Recent Great Earthquakes. 

JAPAN may be considered the home of the volcano and 
the earthquake. Few months pass there without one 
or more earth shocks of considerable force, besides numerous 
lighter ones of too slight a nature to be worthy of remark. 
Japanese histories furnish many records of these phenomena. 
There is an ancient legend of a great earthquake in 286 
B.C., when Mount Fuji rose from the bottom of the sea in a 
single night. This Is the highest and most famous mountain 
of the country. It rises more than 12,000 feet above the water 
level, and is in shape like a cone; the crater is 500 feet deep. 
It is regarded by the natives as a sacred mountain, and large 
numbers of pilgrims make the ascent to the summit at the 
commencement of the summer. The apex is shaped some- 
what like an eight-petaled lotus flower, and offers from three 
to five peaks to view from different directions. Though now 
apparently extinct, it was In former times an active volcano, 
and the histories of the country mention several very disas- 
trous eruptions. Japanese poets never weary In celebrating 
the praises of Fuji-san, or Fuji-yama, as it is variously called, 
and its conical form is one of the most familiar in Japanese 
painting and decorative art. 

336 



JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 337 

As Japan has not yet been scientifically explored through- 
out, and, moreover, as there is considerable difficulty* in defin- 
ing the kind of mountain to be regarded as a volcano, it is 
impossible to give an absolute statement as to the number of 
volcanoes in the country. If under the term volcano be 
included all mountains which have been in a state of eruption 
within the historical period, those which have a true volcanic 
form, together with those that still exhibit on their flanks mat- 
ter ejected from a crater, we may conclude that there are at 
least lOO such mountains in the Japanese empire. Of this 
number about forty-eight are still active. 

Altogether about 232 eruptions have been recorded, and of 
these the greater number took place in the southern districts. 
This may perhaps be accounted for by the fact that Japanese 
civilization advanced from the south. In consequence of this, 
records were made of various phenomena in the south when 
the northern regions were still unknown and unexplored. 

The most famous of the active volcanoes Is Asama-yama 
In Shinano. The earliest eruption of this mountain of which 
record now exists seems to have been In 1650. After that it 
w^as only feebly active for 133 years, when there occurred a 
very severe eruption in 1783. Even as late as 1870 there was 
a considerable emission of volcanic matter, at which time 
also violent shocks of earthquake were felt at Yokohama. 
The crater is very deep, with Irregular rocky walls of a sul- 
phur character, from apertures in which fumes are constantly 
sent forth. 

Probably the earliest authentic instance of an earthquake 
in Japan is that which is said to have occurred in 416 A.D., 
when the imperial palace at Kioto was thrown to the ground. 
Again, in 599, the buildings throughout the province of 
Yamato were all destroyed, and special prayers were ordered 
to be offered up to the deity of earthquakes. In 679 a tremen- 
dous shock caused many fissures to open in the provinces of 
Chikuzen and Chikugo, in Klushlu; the largest of these 



338 JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 

chasms was over four miles In length and about twenty feet in 
width. In 829 the northern province of Dewa was visited in a 
similar manner; the castle of Akita was overthrown, deep 
rifts were formed in the ground in every direction, and the 
Akita river was dried up. 

To descend to more recent instances, in 1702 the lofty walls 
of the outside and inside moats of the castle of Yeddo were 
destroyed, tidal waves broke along the coast in the vicinity, 
and the road leading through the famous pass of Hakone, in 
the hills to the east of Fuji-yama was closed up by the altera- 
tion in the surface of the earth. A period of unusual activity 
was between the years 1780 and 1800, a time when there was 
great activity elsewhere on the globe. It was during this 
period that Mount Unsen was blown up, and from 27,000 to 
53,000 persons (according to different accounts) perished; that 
many islands were formed in the Satsuma sea; that Sakura- 
jima threw out so much pumice material that it was possible 
to walk a distance of twenty-three miles upon the floating 
debris In the sea; and that Asama ejected so many blocks of 
stone — one of which is said to have been forty-two feet in 
diameter — and a lava-stream sixty-eight kilometres in length. 

In 1854 an earthquake destroyed the town of Shimoda, in 
the province of Idzu, and a Russian frigate, lying in the harbor 
at the time, was so severely damaged by the waves caused by 
the shock that she had to be abandoned. In 1855 came a 
great earthquake which was felt most severely at Yedo, though 
its destructive power extended for some distance to the west 
along the line of the Tokaido. It is stated that on this occa- 
sion there were In all 14,241 dv»?elling houses and 1,649 fire 
proof store houses overturned in the city, and a destructive 
fire which raged at the same time further increased the loss of 
life and property. 

What was possibly the gravest disaster of its class In this 
land of volcanoes, since the terrible eruptions which came in 
the twenty years ending in 1800. occurred in the Bandai-saii 



JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 339 

region in northern Japan, on July 15, 1888. At about eight 
o'clock in the morning of that day, almost in the twinkling of 
an eye, Little Bandai-san was blown into the air, and wiped 
out of the map of Japan. A few moments later its debris had 
buried or devastated the surrounding country for miles, and a 
dozen or more of upland hamlets had been overwhelmed in 
the earthen deluge, or wrecked by other phenomena attend- 
ing the outburst. Several hundreds of people had met with 
sudden and terrible death; scores of others had been injured; 
and the long roll of disaster included the destruction of horses 
and cattle, damming up of rivers, and laying waste of large 
tracts of rice-land and mulberry groves. 

A small party was organized in Tokio to visit the scene. 
As the travelers approached the mountain, they were told that 
twenty miles in a straight line from Bandai-san no noise or 
earthquake was experienced on the 15th, but mist and gloom 
prevailed for about seven hours, the result of a shower of 
impalpable blue-gray ash, which fell to a depth of half an inch, 
and greatly puzzled the inhabitants. An ascent of about 3,000 
feet was made to the back of the newly formed crater, so as to 
obtain a clear view of it and of the country which had been 
overwhelmed. Only on nearing the end of the ascent was the 
party again brought face to face with signs of the explosion. 
Here, besides the rain of ^fine, gray, ashen mud which had 
fallen on and still covered the ground and all vegetation, they 
came upon a number of freshly opened pits, evidently in some 
way the work of the volcano. Ascending the last steep rise to 
the ridge behind Little Bandai-san, signs of the great disaster 
grew in number and intensity. 

The London Times correspondent, who was one of the 
party, wrote: "Fetid vapors swept over us, emanating' from 
evil looking pools. Great trees, torn up by their roots, lay all 
around; and the whole face of the mountain wore the look of 
having been withered by some fierce and baleful blast. A few 
minutes further and we had gained the crest of the narrow 



340 JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 

ridge, and now, for the first time, looked forth upon the sight 
we had come to see. I hardly know which to pronounce the 
more astonishing, the prospect that now opened before our 
eyes or the suddenness with which it burst upon us. To the 
former no more fitting phrase, perhaps, can be applied than 
that of absolute, unredeemed desolation — so intense, so sad, 
and so bewildering that I despair of describing it adequately in 
detail. 

"On our right, a little above us, rose the in-curved rear wall 
of what, eight days before, had been Sho-Bandai-san, a rag- 
ged, almost sheer cliff, falling, with scarce a break, to a depth 
of fully 600 feet. In front of the cliff everything had been 
blown away and scattered over the face of the country before 
it, in a roughly fan-shaped deposit of for the most part 
unknown depth — deep enough, however, to erase every land- 
mark, and conceal every feature of the deluged area. At the 
foot of the cliff, clouds of suffocating steam rose ceaselessly 
and angrily, and with loud roaring, from two great fissures in 
the crater bed, and now and then assailed us with their hellish 
odor. To our eyes, the base, denuded by the explosion, 
seemed to cover a space of between three and four square 
miles. This, however, can only be rough conjecture. Equally 
vague must be all present attempts to determine the volume 
of the disrupted matter. Yet, if we assume, as a very moder- 
ate calculation, that the mean depth of the debris covering a 
buried area of thirty square miles is not less than fifteen feet, 
we find that the work achieved by this great mine of Nature's 
firing was the upheaval and wide distribution of no fewer than 
700,000,000 tons of earth, rocks, and other ponderous material. 
The real figure is probably very much greater." 

The desolation beyond the crater, and the mighty mass 
thrown out by the volcano which covered the earth, were 
almost incredible. "Down the slopes of Bandai-san, across 
the valley of the Nagase-gawa, choking up the river, and 
stretching beyond it to the foot-hills, five or six miles away 



JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 341 

swept a vast, billowy sheet of ash-covered earth or mud, oblit- 
erating every foot of the erstwhile smiling landscape. Here 
and there the eyes rested on huge, disordered heaps of rocky 
debris, in the distance resembling nothing so much as the 
giant, concrete, black substructure of some modern break- 
water. It was curious to see on the farther side the sharp line 
of demarkation between the brown sea of mud and the green 
forests on which it had encroached; or, again, the lakes 
formed in every tributary glen of the Nagase-gawa by the 
massive dams so suddenly raised against the passage of their 
stream waters. One lake was conspicuous among the rest. It 
was there that the Nagase-gawa itself had been arrested at its 
issue from a narrow pass by a monster barrier of disrupted 
matter thrown right across its course. Neither living thing 
nor any sign of life could be discerned over the whole expanse. 
All was dismally silent and solitary. Beneath it, however, lay 
half a score of hamlets, and hundreds of corpses of men, 
women and children, who had been overtaken by swift and 
painful deaths." 

Although the little village of Nagasaka was comparatively 
uninjured, nearly all its able-bodied inhabitants lost their lives 
in a manner which shows the extraordinary speed with which 
the mud-stream flowed. W?ien Little Bandai-san blew up, and 
hot ashes and sand began to fall, the young and strong fled 
panic-stricken across the fields, making for the opposite hills 
by paths well known to all. A minute later came a thick dark- 
ness, as of midnight. Blinded by this, and dazed by the falling 
debris and other horrors of the scene, their steps, probably 
also their senses, failed them. And before the light returned 
every soul was caught by a swift bore of soft mud, which, 
rushing down the valley bed, overwhelmed them in a fate 
more horrible and not less sudden than that of Pharaoh and 
his host. None escaped save those who stayed at home — 
mostly the old and very young. 

A terrible earthquake convulsed central Japan on the 



342 JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 

morning of October 25, 1891. The waves of disturbance trav- 
ersed thirty-one provinces, over virhich the earth's crust was 
violently shaken for ten minutes together, while slighter 
shocks were felt for a distance of 400 miles to the north, 
and traveled under the sea a like distance, making 
themselves felt in a neighboring island. In Tokio itself, 
though 170 miles from the center of disturbance, it produced 
an earthquake greater than any felt for nearly forty years, 
lasting twelve minutes. Owing, however, to the character of 
the movement, which was a comparatively slow oscillation, the 
damage was confined to the wrecking of some roofs and chim- 
neys. Very different were its results in the central zone 
of agitation, concerning which a correspondent wrote as 
follows: 

"There was a noise as of underground artillery, a shake, 
a second shake, and in less than thirty seconds the Nagoya- 
Gifu plain, covering an area of 1,200 square miles, became a 
sea of waves, more than 40,000 houses fell, and thousands of 
people lost their lives. The sequence of events Vv^as approxi- 
mately as follows: To commence at Tokio, the capital, which 
is some 200 miles from the scene of the disaster, on October 
25th, very early in the morning, the inhabitants were alarmed 
by a long, easy swaying of the ground, and many sought refuge 
outside their doors. There were no shocks, but the ground 
moved back and forth, swung round, and rose and fell with 
the easy, gentle motion of a raft upon an ocean swell. Many 
became dizzy, and some were seized with nausea." 

These indications, together with the movements of the 
seismographs, denoted a disturbance at a considerable dis- 
tance, but the first surmise that it was located under the Pacific 
Ocean, was unfortunately incorrect. The scene of the catas- 
trophe was indicated only by tidings from Its outskirts, as all 
direct news was cut off by the interruption of railway and tele- 
graphic comm.unicatlon. An exploratory and relief party 
started on the second day from Tokio, not knowing how far 



JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 343 

they would be able to proceed by train, and the correspondent 
who accompanied them thus described his experiences: 

"Leaving Tokio by a night train, early next morning we 
were at Hamamatsu, 137 miles distant from Tokio, on the out- 
side edge of the destructive area. Here, although the motion 
had been sufficiently severe to destroy some small warehouses, 
to displace the posts supporting the heavy roof of a temple, 
and to ruffle a few tiles along the eaves of the houses, nothing 
serious had occurred. At one point, owing to the lateral 
spreading of an embankment, there had been a slight sinkage 
of the line, and we had to proceed with caution. Crossing the 
entrance to the beautiful lake of Hamana Ko, which tradition 
says was joined to the sea by the breaking of a sand-spit by 
the sea waves accompanying an earthquake in 1498, we rose 
from the rice fields and passed over a country of hill and rock. 
Further along the line signs of violent movement became 
more numerous. Huge stone lanterns at the entrances of 
temples had been rotated or overturned, roofs had lost their 
tiles, especially along the ridge, sinkages in the line became 
numerous, and although there was yet another rock barrier 
between us and the plain of great destruction, it was evident 
that we were in an area where earth movements had been 
violent." 

The theatre of maximum destruction was a plain, dotted 
with villages and homesteads, supporting, under the garden- 
like culture of Japan, 500 and 800 inhabitants to the square 
mile, and containing two cities, Nagoya and Gifu, with popu- 
lations respectively of 162,000 and 30,000, giving probably a 
round total of half a million human beings. Within about 
twelve miles of Gifu, a subsidence on a vast scale took place, 
engulfing a whole range of hills, while over lesser areas the 
soil in many places slipped down, carrying with it dwellings 
and their inmates. Gifu was a total wreck, devastated by ruin 
and conflagration, causing the destruction of half its houses. 
Ogaki, nine miles to the west, fared even worse, for here only 



344 JAPAN, ITS EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES 

113 out of 4,434 houses remained standing, and one-tenth of 
the population were killed or wounded. In one temple, where 
service was being held, only two out of the entire congrega- 
tion escaped. 

Nagoya, too, suffered heavily, and thousands of houses col- 
lapsed. The damage at this place was produced by three 
violent shocks in quick, succession, preceded by a deep, boom- 
ing sound. During the succeeding 206 hours, 6,600 earth 
spasms of greater or less intensity were felt at increasing 
intervals, occurring in the beginning probably at the rate of 
one a minute. The inhabitants were driven to bivouac in rude 
shelters in the streets, and there was great suffering among 
the injured, to whom it was impossible to give proper care for 
many days after the disaster. Some estimates placed the 
figure of the killed and wounded as high as 24,000, whilst not 
less than 300,000 were rendered homeless. 

Owing to the frequency of earthquake shocks in Japan, the 
study of their causes and effects has had a great deal of atten- 
tion there since the introduction of modern science into the 
island empire. The Japanese have proved as energetic in this 
direction as they are in purely material progress on the lines of 
western civilization, and already they are recognized as the 
most advanced of all people in their study of seismology and 
its accompanying phenomena. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF VOLCANIC 
EXPLOSIONS 

The Volcano That Blew Its Own Head Off— The Terrific Crash 
Heard Three Thousand Miles— Atmospheric Waves Travel Seven 
Times Around the Earth — A Pillar of Dust Seventeen Miles 
High— Islands of the Malay Archipelago Blotted Out of Exist- 
ence—Native Villages Annihilated— Other Disastrous Upheavals 
in the East Indies. 

ONE of the fairest regions of the world is the Malay 
Archipelago of the East Indies. Here nature is prod- 
igal with her gifts to man, and the cocoa-palm, cinnamon 
and other trees flourish, and rice, cotton, the sugar cane and 
tobacco yield their increase under cultivation. But beneath 
these scenes of loveliness, there are terrific energies, for this 
region is a focus of intense volcanic action. In the Sunda 
strait, between Sumatra and Java, there lies a group of small 
volcanic islands, the largest of which is Krakatoa. It forms 
part of the "basal wreck" of a large submarine volcano, whose 
visible edges are also represented by Velaten and Lang 
islands. 

For two hundred years the igneous forces beneath Kraka- 
toa remained dormant; but in September, 1880, premonitory 
shocks of earthquake were heard in the neighborhood. At 
length the inhabitants of Batavia and Bintenzorg were startled 
on May 20, 1883, by booming sounds which came from Kraka- 
toa, one hundred miles distant. A mail steamer passing 
through the strait, had her compass violently agitated. Next 

345 



346 KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 

day a sprinkling of ashes was noticed at some places on each 
side of the strait, and toward evening a steam-column rising 
from Krakatoa revealed the locality of the disturbance. The 
commander of the German war ship Elisabeth, while passing, 
estimated the dust-column to be about thirty-six thousand 
feet, or seven miles high. 

Volcanic phenomena being common to that region, no fears 
were entertained by the inhabitants in the vicinity; and an 
excursion party even started from Batavia to visit the scene 
of action. They reached the island on May 27th, and saw 
that the cone of Perborwatan was active, and that a column of 
vapor arose from it to a height of not less than ten thousand 
feet, v/hile lumps of pumice were shot up to about six hundred 
feet. Explosions occurred at intervals of from five to ten min- 
utes, each of these outbursts uncovering the liquid lava in the 
vent, the glow of v/hich lighted up the overhanging steam- 
cloud for a few seconds. 

Shortly after this visit the activity diminished. But on June 
19th it was noticed at Anjer that the height of the dust and 
vapor-column, and likewise the explosions were again increas- 
ing. On the 24th a second column was seen rising. At length, 
Captain Ferzenaar, chief of the Topographical Survey of Ban- 
tam, visited Krakatoa island on August nth. He found its 
forests destroyed, and the mantle of dust near the shores was 
twenty inches thick. Three large vapor-columns were noted, 
one marking the position of the crater of Perborwatan, while 
the other two were in the center of the island, and of the lat- 
ter, one was probably Danan. There were also no less than 
eleven other eruptive foci, from which issued smaller steam- 
columns and dust. This was the last report prior to the great 
paroxysm. 

During the next two or three weeks there was a decline in 
the energy of the volcano, but on the afternoon of Sunday, 
August 26th, and all through the following night, it was evi- 
dent that the period of moderate eruptive action had passed. 



KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 347 

and that Krakatoa had now entered upon the paroxysmal 
stage. From sunset on Sunday till midnight the tremendous 
detonations followed each other so quickly that a continuous 
roar may be said to have issued from the island. The full ter- 
rors of the eruption were now approaching. The distance of 
ninety-six miles from Krakatoa was not sufficient to permit 
sleep to the inhabitants of Batavia. All night volcanic thun- 
ders sounded like the discharges of artillery at their very 
doors. On the next morning there were four mighty explo- 
sions. The third was of appalling violence, and it gave rise to 
the most far-reaching effects. The entire series of grand phe- 
nomena at that spot extended over a little more than thirty-six 
hours. 

Captain Thompson, of the Media, then seventy-six miles 
northeast of Krakatoa, saw a black mass like smoke rising 
into the clouds to an altitude estimated at not less than seven- 
teen miles. The eruption was also viewed by Captain Wool- 
dridge at a distance of forty miles. He speaks of the vapory 
mass looking like "an immense wall, with bursts of forked 
lightning, at times like large serpents rushing through the 
air." After sunset this dark wall resembled "a blood-red cur- 
tain with the edges of all shades of ^'^ellow, the whole of a 
murky tinge, with fierce flashes of lightning." Two other 
masters of vessels, at about the same distance from the vol- 
cano, report seeing the mastheads and yardarms of their ships 
aglow with electric fire. Such effects seem to be easily expli- 
cable. When we consider how enormous must be the friction 
going on in the hot air, through the clash against each other 
of myriads of particles of volcanic dust, during ejection and 
in their descent, it is evident that such friction is adequate to 
produce a widespread electrical disturbance in the surrounding 
atmosphere. The rush of steam through craters or other 
fissures would also contribute to these disturbances. 

From these causes the compasses of passing ships were 
much disturbed. And yet the fall of magnetic oxide of iron 



348 KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 

(magnetite), a constituent of volcanic ash, possibly had some 
share in creating these perturbations. On the telephone line 
from Ishore, which included a submarine cable about a mile 
long, reports like pistol shots were heard. At Singapore, five 
hundred miles from Krakatoa, it was noted at the Oriental 
Telephone Company's station that, on putting the receiver to 
the ear, a roar like that of a waterfall was heard. So great 
was the mass of vapor and dust in the air, that profound dark- 
ness, which lasted many hours, extended even to one hundred 
and fifty miles from the focus of the eruption. There is the 
record, among others, that it was "pitch dark" at Anjer at two 
o'clock in the afternoon of the 26th. 

So great, too, was the ejective force that the fine volcanic 
dust was blown up to a height of fifty thousand feet, or over 
nine miles, into space. Another estimate gives the enormous 
altitude of seventeen miles to which the dust had been blown. 
The volcanic ash, which fell upon the neighboring islands 
within a circle of nine and one half miles radius, was from 
sixty-five to one hundred and thirty feet thick. At the back 
of the island the thickness of the ash beds was from one 
hundred and ninety-five to two hundred and sixty feet. 
Masses of floating pumice encumbered the strait. The coarser 
particles of this ash fell over a known area equal to 285,170 
square miles, a space equal to the whole of the New England 
States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio Indania 
and Illinois. It is calculated that the matter so ejected must 
have been considerably over a cubic mile in volume. 

Another distinguishing feature of this display of nature's 
powers was the magnitude and range of the explosive sounds. 
Lloyd's agent at Batavia, ninety-four miles distant from Krak- 
atoa, reported that on the morning of the 27th the reports and 
concussions were simply deafening. At Carimon, Java, which 
is three hundred and fifty-five miles distant, the natives heard 
reports which led them to suppose that a distant ship was in 
distress; boats put off for what proved to be a futile search. 



KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 349 

The explosions were heard not only all over the province of 
Macassar, nine hundred and sixty-nine miles from the scene 
of the eruption, but over a yet wider area. At a spot one 
thousand one hundred and sixteen miles distant — St. Lucia 
bay, Borneo — some natives heard the awful sound. It stirred 
their consciences, for, being guilty of murder, they fled, fearing 
chat such sounds signified the approach of an avenging force. 
Again, in the island of Timor, one thousand three hundred 
•AAd fifty-one miles away, the people were so alarmed that the 
gcv^ernment sent off a steamer to seek the cause of the distur- 
basice. 

At that time, also, the shepherds on the Victoria plains, 
Wf^st Australia, thought they heard the firing of heavy artil- 
lery, at a spot one thousand seven hundred miles distant. At 
midiiight, August 26th, the people of Daly Waters, South Aus- 
tralvA, were aroused by what they thought was the blasting of 
a rock, a sound which lasted a few minutes. "The time and 
othe^' circumstances show that here again was Krakatoa heard, 
this time at the enormous distance of two thousand and 
tweii ty-three miles." And yet there is trustworthy evidence 
that the sounds were heard over even greater distances. 
Thu wdering noises were heard at Diego Garcia, in the Chagos 
islands, two thousand two hundred and sixty-seven miles from 
Krakhtoa. It was imagined that some vessel must be in dis- 
tress, and search was accordingly made. But most remarka- 
ble of all, Mr. James Wallis, chief of police in Rodriguez, 
across the Indian ocean, and nearly three thousand miles away 
from Kr'akatoa, made a statement in which he said that "sev- 
eral times during the night of August 26th-27th reports were 
heard coming from the eastward like the distant roar of heavy 
guns. These reports continued at intervals of between three 
and four hours." Obviously, some time was needed for the 
sounds to make such a journey. On the basis of the known 
rate of velocity, they must have been heard at Rodriguez 
four hours after they started from their source. 



350 KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 

And yet, great as wsls the range of such vibrations, they 
could not be compared with that of the air-wave caused by the 
mighty outburst. This atmospheric v/ave started from Krak- 
atoa at two minutes past ten on that eventful Monday morn- 
ing, moving onward in an ever -widening circle, like that 
produced when a stone is thrown into smooth water. This 
ring-like wave traveled on at the rate of from six hundred 
and seventy-four to seven hundred and twenty-six miles an 
hour, and v/ent around the world four, if not even seven 
times, as evidenced by the following facts: Batavia is nearly 
a hundred miles from the eruptive focus under review. There 
was connected with its gas-holder the usual pressure recorder. 
About thirteen minutes after the great outburst, this gauge 
showed a barometric disturbance equal to about four-tenths 
of an inch of mercury, that is, an extra air pressure of about a 
fifth of a pound on every square inch. The effects on the air 
of minor paroxysmal outbreaks are also recorded by this 
instrument; but barometers in the most distant places record 
the same disturbance. The great wave passed and repassed 
over the globe and no inhabitant was conscious of the fact. 
Barometers in the principal cities of the world automatically 
recorded this effect of the first great wave from Krakatoa to 
its antipodes in Central America, and also the return wave. 
The first four oscillations left their mark on upward of forty 
barograms, the fifth and sixth on several, and at Kew, 
England, the existence of a seventh was certainly established. 

At the same time that this immense aerial undulation 
started on its tour around the world, another wave but of 
awful destructiveness, a seismic sea-wave, started on a similar 
journey. There can hardly be a doubt that this so-called 
"tidal-wave" was synchronous with the greatest of the explo- 
sions. A wave from fifty to seventy-two feet high arose and 
swept with resistless fury upon the shores each side of the 
straits. The destruction to life and property will probably 
never be fully known. At least thirty-six thousand lives were 



KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 351 

lost; a great part of the district of North Bantam was 
destroyed; and the towns of Anjer, Merak, Tyringin, and 
neighboring villages were overwhelmed. A man-of-war, the 
Berouw, was cast upon the shore of Sumatra nearly two miles 
inland, and masses of coral from twenty to fifty tons in 
weight were torn from the bed of the sea and swept upon the 
shore. 

The formerly fertile and densely populated islands of 
Sibuku and Sibesi were entirely covered by a deposit of dry 
mud severals yards thick, and furrowed by deep crevasses. 
Of the inhabitants all perished to a man. Three islands, 
Steers, Calmeyer, and the islet east of Verlaten, completely 
disappeared and were covered by twelve or fourteen feet of 
water. Verlaten, formerly one mass of verdure, was uniformly 
covered with a layer of ashes about one hundred feet thick. 

A few days after this eruption som.e remarkable sky effects 
were observed in different parts of the world. Many of these 
effects were of extraordinary beauty. Accordingly scientific 
inquiry was made, and in due time there was collected and 
tabulated a list of places from v,rhence these effects were seen, 
together with the dates of such occurrences. Eventually it 
was concluded that such optical phenomena had a common 
cause, and that it must be the dust of ultra-microscopic fine- 
ness at an enormous altitude. All the facts indicated that 
such a cloud started from the Sunda straits, and that the pro- 
digious force of the Krakatoa eruption could at that time alone 
account for the presence of impalpable matter at such a 
height in the atmosphere. 

This cloud traveled at about double the speed of an 
express train, by way of the tropics of Cancer and of Capri- 
corn. Carried by westerly-going winds, in three days it had 
crossed the Indian Ocean and was rapidly moving over Cen- 
tral Africa; two days later it was flying over the Atlantic; 
then, for two more days over Brazil, and then across the 
Pacific toward its birth-place. But the wind still carried this 



352 KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 

haze of fine particles onward, and again It went around the 
world within a fortnight. In November, the dust area had 
expanded so as to include North America and Europe. 

Here are a few facts culled from the report of the Royal 
Society of London. On the 28th, at Seychelles, the sun was 
seen as through a fog at sunset, and there was a lurid glare all 
over the sky. At the island of Rodriguez, on that day> 
"a strange, red, threatening sky was seen at sunset." At Mau- 
ritius (28th), there is the record "Crimson dawn, sun red after 
rising, gorgeous sunset, first of the afterglows; sky and clouds 
yellow and red up to the zenith." 28th and 29th, Natal — "most 
vivid sunsets, also August 31st and September 5th, sky vivid 
red, fading into green and purple." On the last days of 
August and September ist, the sun, as seen from South Amer- 
ica, appeared blue, while at Panama on the 2d and 3d of that 
month, the sun appeared green. "On the 2d of September, 
Trinidad, Port of Spain — Sun looked like a blue ball, and after 
sunset the sky became so red that there was supposed to be a 
big fire." "On the 5th of September, Honolulu — Sun set 
green. Remarkable afterglow first seen. Secondary glow 
lasted till 7:45 P. M., gold, green and crimson colors. Corona 
constantly seen from September 5th to December 15th. Misty 
rippled surface of haze." 

It remains to be said that when this now famous island of 
Krakatoa was visited shortly after the great eruption, wonder- 
ful changes were noted. The whole northern and lower por- 
tion of the island had vanished, except an isolated pitchstone 
rock, ten yards square, and projecting out of the ocean with 
deep water all around it. What a tremendous work of evis- 
ceration this must have been is attested by the fact that where 
Krakatoa island, girt with luxuriant forests, once towered 
from three hundred to fourteen hundred feet above the sunlit 
waters, it is now, in some places, more than a thousand feet 
below them. 

There is no region more frequently visited by earthquakes 



KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 353 

than the beautiful lands In the Indian ocean, and nowhere has 
greater damage been done than on the beautiful island of Java. 
In former ages Sumatra and Java formed one single island, 
but in the year 1115, after a terrific earthquake, the isthmus 
which connected them, disappeared In the waves with all its 
forests and fertile fields. 

These two islands have more than 200 volcanoes, half of 
which have never been explored, but it is known that whenever 
there has been an eruption of any one of them, one or the 
other of the two islands has been visited by an earthquake. 
Moreover, earthquakes are so frequent In the whole archipel- 
ago that the principal ones serve as dates to mark time or to 
refer to, just as in our own country is the case with any great 
historic event. A month rarely passes without the soil being 
shaken, and the disappearance of a village is of frequent 
occurrence. 

In 1822 the earthquake which accompanied the eruption of 
the Javanese volcano of Yalung-Yung, utterly destroyed 144 
towns and villages. In 1772, when the Papand-Yung was in a 
state of furious eruption, the Island of Java was violently 
agitated, and a tract of nearly twenty-five square leagues, 
which but the day before had been covered with flourishing vil- 
lages and farms, was reduced to a heap of ruins. In 1815 an 
earthquake, accompanied by an eruption of the volcano of 
Timboro, in the island of Sumatra, destroyed more than 20,000 
lives. 

It Is rare even in this archipelago that there occurs a cata- 
clysm so terrible as that of 1883. When the first eruption of 
Krakatoa occurred on August 25, it seemed that it was a signal 
to the other volcanoes of Java and Sumatra. By mid-day 
Maha-Meru, the greatest. If not the most active of the Javan- 
ese volcanoes, was belching forth flame continuously. The 
eruption soon extended to the Gunung-Guntus and other vol- 
canoes, until a third of the forty-five craters In Java were either 
in full blast, or beginning to show signs of eruption. While 



354 KRAKATOA, THE GREATEST OF EXPLOSIONS 

these eruptions were going on, the sea was in a state of tre- 
mendous agitation. The clouds floating above the water were 
charged with electricity, and at one moment there were fifteen 
large water-spouts to be seen at the same time. 

Men, women and children fled in terror from their crum- 
bling habitations, and filled the air with their cries of distress. 
Hundreds of them who had not time to escape were buried 
beneath the ruins. On Sunday evening the violence of the 
shocks and of the volcanic eruptions increased, and the island 
of Java seemed likely to be entirely submerged. Enormous 
v/aves dashed against the shore, and in some cases forced 
their way inland, while enormous crevices opened in the 
ground, threatening to engulf at one fell swoop all the inhab- 
itants and their houses. 

Toward midnight there was a scene of horror passing the 
powers of imagination. A luminous cloud gathered above the 
chain of the Kandangs, which run along the southeastern coast 
of Java. This cloud increased in size each minute, until at last 
it came to form a sort of dome of a gray and blood-red color, 
v/hich hung over the earth for a considerable distance. In 
proportion as this cloud grew, the eruptions gained fresh force, 
and the floods of lava poured down the mountain sides with- 
out ceasing, and spread into the valleys, where they swept all 
before them. On Monday morning, about two o'clock, the 
heavy cloud suddenly broke up, and finally disappeared, but 
when the sun rose it was found that a tract of country extend- 
ing from Point Capucine to the south as far as Negery Passo- 
erang, to the north and west, and covering an area of about 
fifty square miles, had entirely disappeared. 

There stood the previous day the villages of Negery, and 
Negery Babawang. Not one of the inhabitants had escaped. 
They and their villages had been swallowed up by the sea. 



CHAPTER XXX 

OUR GREAT HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOL- 

CANOES 

Greatest Volcanoes in the World Are Under the American Flag — 
Huge Craters in Our Pacific islands — Native Worship of the 
Gods of the Flaming ilountains — Eruptions of the Past — Heroic 
Defiance of Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes, by a Brave Hawaiian 
Queen — The Spell of Superstition Broken — Volcanic Peaks in 
Alaska, Our Northern Territory — Aleutian Islands Report 
Eruptions, 

T TNDER the American flag we are ourselves the possess- 

vJ ors of some of the greatest active volcanoes in the 
world, and the greatest of all craters, the latter extinct indeed, 
for many years, but with a latent power that no one could con- 
ceive should it once more begin activity. 

Hawaii, Paradise of the Pacific, raised by the fires of the 
very Inferno out of the depths of the ocean centuries ago, to 
become in recent years a smiling land of tropic beauty and an 
American island possession! tiawaii is the land of great vol- 
canoes, sometimes slumbering and again pouring forth floods 
of molten fire to overwhelm the peaceful villages and arouse 
the superstitious fears of the natives. 

Alaska, too, is a region of great volcanic ranges and erup- 
tive activity, the Aleutian islands being raised from the bed of 
the Pacific by the same natural forces. 

The Hawaiian islands occupy a central position in the 
North Pacific ocean, about 2,000 miles west of the California 
coast. The group includes eight inhabited islands, all of vol- 

355 



356 HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 

canic origin, and they are, substantially, naught but solid 
aggregations of fused, basaltic rock shot up from the earth's 
center, during outbursts of bye-gone ages, and cooled into 
mountains of stone here in the midst of the greatest body of 
water on the globe. In many localities, however, the accre- 
tions of centuries have so covered them with vegetable 
growths that their general appearance is not greatly different 
from that of other sections of the earth's surface. 

The largest of the group is Hawaii, and it includes nearly 
two-thirds of the total area. Here stand the highest moun- 
tains found on any island in the known world. Only a few 
peaks of the Alps are as high as Mauna Loa (Long mountain), 
which towers 13,675 feet above the level of the sea, and Mauna 
Kea (White mountain), the height of which is 13,805 feet. In 
east Maui stands Haleakala, with an elevation about equal to 
that of Mount v^tna. This extinct volcano enjoys the distinc- 
tion of having the largest crater in the world, a monstrous pit, 
thirty miles in circumference and 2,000 feet deep. The vast, 
irregular floor contains more than a dozen subsidiary craters 
or great cones, some of them 750 feet high. At the Kaupo and 
Koolau gaps the lava is supposed to have burst through and 
made its way down the mountain sides. The cones are dis- 
tinctly marked as one looks down upon them; and it is remark- 
able that from the summit the eye takes in the whole crater, 
and notes all its contents, diminished, of course, by their great 
distance. Not a tree, shrub, nor even a tuft of grass obstructs 
the view. The natives have no traditions of Haleakala in 
activity. There are signs of several lava flows, and one in 
particular is clearly much more recent than the others. 

The greatest point of interest in the islands is the great 
crater of Kilauea. It is nine miles in circumference and per- 
haps a thousand feet deep. Nowhere else within the knowl- 
edge of mankind is there a living crater to be compared with 
it. Moreover, there is no crater which can be entered and 
explored with ease and comparative safety save Kilauea 



HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 357 

alone. There have been a few narrow escapes, but no accidents 
and it is needless to add that no description can give anyone 
an adequate idea of the incomparable splendor of the scene. 
It is, indeed, a "bottomless pit," bounded on all sides by pre- 
cipitous rocks. The entrance is effected by a series of steps, 
and below these by a scramble over lava and rock debris. 
The greater part of the crater is a mass of dead, though not 
cold, lava; and]over this the journey is made to the farthest 
extremity of the pit, where it is necessary to ascend a tolera- 
bly steep hill of lava, which is the bank of the fiery lake. A 
step or two brings one close to the awful margin, and he looks 
down over smoking, frightful walls, three hundred feet or 
more, into a great boiling, bubbling, sizzling sea of fire. 

The tendency of the current, if it may be so called, is cen- 
tripetal, though at times it varies, flowing to one side; while 
along the borders of the pit, waves of slumbering lava, appar- 
ently as unmovable as those over which the traveler has just 
crossed, lie in wrinkled folds and masses, heaped against the 
shore. If one watches those waves closely, however, he will 
presently observe what appears like a fiery, red serpent coming 
up out of the lake and creeping through and under them, like 
a chain of brilliant flame, its form lengthening as it goes, until 
it has circumscribed a large share of the entire basin. Then 
it begins to spread and flatten, as though the body had burst 
asunder and was dissolving back again, along its whole trail, 
into the fierce flood of turbulent fury whence it came. 

Soon the broad, thick mass of lava, thus surrounded, which 
seemed fixed and immovable, slowly drifts off from the shore 
to the center of the lake; reminding one of detached cakes of 
broken ice, such as are often seen in winter when the thaws 
come, or during spring freshets when the streams burst their 
encrusted chains. The force of this comparison is strength- 
ened when these cakes reach the center, for there they go to 
pieces exactly after the m.anner of large pieces of ice, and 
turning upon their edges, disappear in the_ravenous vortex 



358 HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 

below, which is forever swallowing up all that approaches it, 
giving nothing back in return. 

Two kinds of lava form on the face of the lake. One is 
stony, hard, and brittle; the other flexible and tough, similar 
to India-rubber. The flexible kind forms exclusively on one 
side of the basin and spreads over it like an immense, sombre 
blanket; and, as it floats down in slow procession to the cen- 
tral abyss, occasionally rises and falls with a flapping motion, 
by force of the generated gases underneath, like a sheet 
shaken in the wind. 

Occasionally, the fire forces its way through this covering 
and launches huge, sputtering fountains of red-hot liquid lava 
high into the air, with a noise that resembles distant bombs 
exploding; and again, multitudes of smaller founts burst into 
blossom all over the lake, presenting a spectacle of v/ild beauty 
across its entire surface. 

In Hav/aiian mythology, Pele was the goddess of volca- 
noes, and she and her numerous family formed a class of 
deities by themselves. She with her six sisters, Hiiaka, her 
brother Kamohoalii, and others, were said to have emigrated 
from Kahiki (Samoa) in ancient times. They were said to have 
first lived at Moanalua in Oahu, then to have moved their res- 
idence to Kalaupapa, Molokai, then to Haleakala, and finally to 
have settled on Hawaii. Their headquarters were in the Hale- 
mau-mau, in the crater of Kilauea, but they also caused the 
eruptions of Mauna Loa and Hualalai. In southern Hawaii 
Pele was feared more than any other deity, and no one dared 
to approach her abode without making her an offering of the 
ohelo-berries that grow in the neighborhood. Whenever an 
eruption took place, great quantities of hogs and other articles 
of property were thrown into the lava stream in order to 
appease her anger. 

In 1824, Kapiolani, the daughter of a great chief of Hilo, 
having been converted to Christianity by the missionaries, 
determined to break the spell of the native belief in Pele. In 



HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 359 

spite of the strenuous opposition of her friends and even of 
her husband, she made a journey of about 150 miles, mostly 
on foot, from Kealakekua to Hilo, visiting the great crater of 
Kilauea on her way, in order to defy the wrath of Pele, and 
to prove that no such being existed. 

On approaching the volcano, she met the priestess of Pele, 
who warned her not to go near the crater and predicted her 
death if she violated the tabus of the goddess. 

"Who are you?" demanded Kapiolani. 

"One in whom the goddess dwells," she replied. 

In answer to a pretended letter of Pele, Kapiolani quoted 
passages from the Bible until the priestess was silenced. Kap- 
iolani then went forward to the crater, where Mr. Goodrich, 
one of the missionaries, met her. A hut was built for her on 
the eastern brink of the crater, and here she passed the night. 

The next morning she and her company of about eighty 
persons descended over 500 feet to the "Black Ledge." There, 
in full view of the grand and terrific action of the inner crater, 
she ate the berries consecrated to Pele, and threw stones into 
the burning lake, saying: "Jehovah is my God. He kindled 
these fires. I fear not Pele. If I perish by her anger, then 
you may fear Pele; but if I trust in Jehovah, and he preserve 
me when breaking her tabus, then you must fear and serve 
him alone. . . ." 

It is needless to say that she was not harmed, and this act 
did much to destroy the superstitious dread in which the 
heathen goddess was held by the ignorant and credulous natives. 

The history of Hawaiian volcanic eruptions tells no such 
tales of horror as regards the loss of life and property as may 
be read in the accounts of other great volcanoes of the globe. 
This, however, is simply because the region is less populated, 
and their tremendous manifestations of power have lacked 
material to destroy. There have been fatal catastrophes, and 
ruin has been wrought which seems slight only in comparison 
with the greater disasters of a similar nature. 



360 HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 

In 1855 an eruption of Mauna Loa occurred. The lava 
flowed toward Hilo, and for several months, spreading through 
the dense forests which belt the mountain, crept slowly shore- 
wards, threatening this beautiful portion of Hawaii with the 
fate of the Cities of the Plain. For five months the inhabit- 
ants watched the inundation, which came a little nearer every 
day. Should they flee or not? Would their beautiful homes 
become a waste of jagged lava and black sand, like the neigh- 
boring district of Puna, once as fair as Hilo? Such questions 
suggested themselves as they nightly watched the nearing 
glare, till the fiery waves met with obstacles which piled them 
up in hillocks eight miles from Hilo, and the suspense was 
over. 

Only gigantic causes can account for the gigantic phenom- 
ena of this lava-flow. The eruption traveled forty miles in a 
straight line, or sixt}^ including sinuosities. It was from one 
to three miles broad, and from five to 200 feet deep, according 
to the contours of the mountain slopes over which it flowed. 
It lasted for thirteen months, pouring out a torrent of lava 
which covered nearly 300 square miles of land, and its volume 
was estimated at 38,000,000,000 cubic feet! In 1859 lava foun- 
tains 400 feet in height, and with a nearly equal diameter, 
played on the summit of Mauna Loa. This eruption ran fifty 
miles to the sea in eight days, but the flow lasted much longer, 
and added a new promontory to Hawaii. 

On March 27, 1868, a series of earthquakes began and 
became more startling from day to day, until their succession 
became so rapid that the island quivered like the lid of a boil- 
ing pot nearly all the time between the heavier shocks. The 
trembling was like that of a ship struck by a heavy wave. 
Late in the afternoon of April 2, the climax came. The crust 
of the earth rose and sank like the sea in a storm. Rocks 
were rent, mountains fell, buildings and their contents were 
shattered, trees swayed like reeds, animals ran about 
demented; men thought the judgment had come. The earth 



HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 361 

opened in thousands of places, the roads in Hilo cracked open; 
horses and their riders, and people afoot, were thrown violently 
to the ground. At Kilauea the shocks were as frequent as the 
ticking of a watch. In Kau, south of Hilo, 300 shocks were 
counted during the day. An avalanche of red earth, supposed 
to be lava, burst from the mountain side, throwing rocks high 
into the air, swallowing up houses, trees, men and animals, and 
traveling three miles in as many minutes, burying a hamlet 
with thirty-one inhabitants, and 500 head of cattle. 

The people of the valleys fled to the mountains, which 
themselves were splitting in all directions, and collecting on 
an elevated spot, with the earth reeling under them, they spent 
a night of terror. Looking toward the shore, they saw it sink, 
and at the same moment a wave, whose height was estimated 
at from forty to sixty feet, hurled itself upon the coast and 
receded five times, destroying whole villages and engulfing 
forever forty-six people who had lingered too near the shore. 

Still the earthquakes continued, and still the volcanoes 
gave no sign. People put their ears to the quivering ground 
and heard, or thought they heard, the surgings of the impris- 
oned lava sea rending its way among the ribs of the earth. 
Five days after the destructive earthquake of April 2, the 
ground south of Hilo burst open with a crash and a roar, 
which at once answered all questions concerning the volcano. 
The molten river, after traveling underground for twenty 
miles, emerged through a fissure two miles in length with a 
tremendous force and volume. Four huge fountains boiled up 
with terrific fury, throwing crimson lava and rocks weighing 
many tons from 500 to 1,000 feet. 

Mr. Whitney, of Honolulu, who was near the spot, says: 
"From these great fountains to the sea flowed a rapid stream 
of red lava, rolling, rushing, and tumbling like a swollen river, 
bearing along in its current large rocks that made the lava 
foam as it dashed down the precipice and through the valley 
into the sea, surging and roaring throughout its length like a 



362 HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAvN VOLCANOES 

cataract, with a power and fury perfectly indescribable. It 
was nothing else than a river of fire from 200 to 800 feet wide 
and twenty deep, with a speed varying from ten to twenty-five 
miles an hour. From the scene of these fire fountains, whose 
united length was about one mile, the river in its rush to the 
sea divided itself into four streams, between which it shut up 
men and beasts. Where it entered the sea it extended the 
coast-line half a mile, but this worthless accession to Hawaiian 
acreage was dearly purchased by the loss, for ages at least, of 
4,000 acres of valuable agricultural land, and a much larger 
quantity of magnificent forest. 

The entire southeast shore of Hawaii sank from four to six 
feet, which involved the destruction of several hamlets and the 
beautiful fringe of cocoanut trees. Though the region was 
very thinly peopled, 100 lives were sacrificed in this week of 
horrors; and from the reeling mountains, the uplifted ocean, 
and the fiery inundation, the terrified survivors fled into Hilo, 
each with a tale of woe and loss. The number of shocks of 
earthquake counted was 2,000 in two weeks, an average of 140 
a day; but on the other side of the island the number was 
incalculable. 

Since that time there have been several eruptions of these 
great Hawaiian volcanoes, but none so destructive to life and 
property. Only two years ago the crater of Mauna Loa was 
in eruption for some weeks, and travelers journeyed to the 
vicinity from all over the v^^orld to see the grand display of 
Nature's power in the fountains of lava and the blazing rivers 
flowing down the mountain side. The spectacle could be 
viewed perfectly at night from ships at sea, and from places of 
safety on shore. 

Across the North Pacific, from Kamschatka to Alaska, is a 
continuous chain of craters in the Aleutian islands, forming 
almost a bridge over the ocean, and from Alaska down the 
western coasts of the two Americas is a string of the mightiest 
volcanoes in existence. Iceland is a seething caldron under 



HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES S63 

its eternal snows, and in a hundred places where some great, 
jagged cone of a volcano rises, seemingly dead and lifeless, 
only a fire-brand in the hand of nature may be needed to 
awaken it to a fury like that of which its vast lava beds, pin- 
nacles, and craters are so eloquent. 

The world's record for the extent of an eruption probably 
belongs to the great volcano Skaptan Jokul, in Iceland. This 
eruption began on June ii, 1783, having been preceded by 
violent earthquakes. A torrent of lava welled up into the 
crater, overflowed it, and ran down the sides of the cone into 
the channel of the Skapta river, completely drying it up. The 
river had occupied a rocky gorge, from 400 to 600 feet deep, 
and averaging 200 feet wide. This gorge was filled, a deep 
lake was filled, and the rock, still at white heat, flowed on into 
subterranean caverns. Tremendous explosions followed, 
throwing boulders to enormous heights. A week after the 
first eruption another stream of lava followed the first, 
debouched over a precipice into the channel of another river, 
and finally, at the end of two years, the lava had spread over 
the plains below in great lakes twelve to fifteen miles wide 
and a hundred feet deep. Twenty villages were destroyed by 
fire, and out of 50,000 inhabitants nearly 9,000 perished, either 
from fire or from noxious vapors. 

The Skapta river branch of this lava stream v/as fifty miles 
long and in places twelve to fifteen miles wide; the other 
stream was forty miles long, seven miles broad, and the range 
of depth in each stream was from 100 to 600 feet. Professor 
Bischoff has called this, in quantity, the greatest eruption of 
the world, the lava, piled, having been estimated as of greater 
volume than is Mont Blanc. 

Regarding the volcanoes of the United States, Mount 
Shasta is one of the most interesting of them. It has an alti- 
tude of 14,350 feet, towering more than a mile above its near- 
est neighbor. Four thousand feet of its peak are above timber 
line, covered with glaciers, while the mountain's base is seven- 



364 HAWAIIAN AND ALASKAN VOLCANOES 

teen miles in diameter. Shasta is almost continually showing 
slight evidences of its internal fires. Another of the famous 
cones is that of Mount Hood, standing 11,225 feet, snow- 
capped, and regarded as an extinct volcano. 

As to the volcanic records of the great West, they may be 
read in the chains of mountains that stretch from Alaska 10,000 
miles to Tierra del Fuego. In the giant geysers and hot 
springs of the Yellowstone Park are evidences of existing fires 
in the United States; while as to the extent of seismic disturb- 
ances of the past, the famous lava beds of Dakota, in which 
Captain Jack, the Modoc chief, held out against government 
troops till starved into submission, are volcanic areas full of 
mute testimony regarding nature's convulsions. 

How soon, if ever, some of these^ volcanic areas of the 
United States may burst forth into fresh activity, no one can 
predict. If the slumbering giants should arouse themselves 
and shake off the rock fetters which bind their strength, the 
results might be terrible to contemplate. Those who dwell in 
the shadow of such peaks as are believed to be extinct, become 
indifferent to such a possible threat after many years of immu- 
nity, but such a disaster as that of St. Pierre arouses thought 
and directs scrutiny once more upon the ancient volcanic 
peaks of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 

Earthquakes Ravage the Coa^t Cities of Peru and the Neighboring 
Countries — Spanish Capitals in the New World Frequent 
Sufferers — Lima, Callao and Caracas Devastated — Tidal Waves 
Accompany the Earthquakes — Juan Fernandez Island Shaken — 
Fissures Engulf Men and Animals — Peculiar Effects Observed. 

THE discovery of America, in 1492, brought a great acces- 
sion to the number of recorded earthquakes, as South 
and Central America and the islands near them have furnished 
almost innumerable instances of the phenomena. 

The first of the known earthquakes in the western hemis- 
phere occurred in 1530, and the Gulf of Paria, with the adjacent 
coast of Cumana, in Venezuela, was the scene of the catas- 
trophe. It was accompanied by a great sea-wave, the tide 
suddenly rising twenty-four feet, and then retiring. There 
were also opened in the earth several large fissures, which dis- 
charged black, fetid salt water and petroleum. A mountain 
near the neighboring Gulf of Caracas was split in twain, and 
has since remained in its cloven condition. 

The coast of Peru was visited by an earthquake in the year 
1586, and again in 1687. On the first occasion the shock was 
accompanied by a great sea-wave eighty-four feet high, which 
inundated the country for two leagues inland. There was still 
another dreadful convulsion on this coast in 1746, when the 
sea twice retreated and dashed in again with a tremen- 
dous wave about eighty feet high, overwhelming^ Lima 
and four other seaports. A portion of the coast sank down, 

365 



366 SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 

producing a new bay at Callas; and in several mountains in the 
neighborhood there were formed large fissures whence water 
and mud gushed forth. On May 24, 1751, the city of Concep- 
cion, in Chili, was entirely swallowed up during an earth- 
quake, and the sea rolled over its site. The ancient port was 
destroyed, and a new town was afterwards erected ten miles 
inland. The great sea-wave, which accompanied this earth- 
quake, rolled in upon the shores of the island of Juan Fernan- 
dez, and overwhelmed a colony which had been recently 
established there. The coast near the ancient port of Con- 
cepcion was considerably raised on this occasion, and the high 
water mark now stands twenty-four feet below its former level. 

The coast of Caracas and the adjacent island of Trinidad 
were violently convulsed in 1776, and the whole city of Cumana 
was reduced to ruins. The shocks were continued for upwards 
of a year, and were at first repeated almost hourly. There 
were frequent eruptions of sulphurous water from fissures in 
the ground, and an island in the Orinoco disappeared. 

Rihamba must have stood, it would appear, almost imme- 
diately over the focus of the dreadful earthquake of February 
4, 1797. This unfortunate city v/as situated in the district of 
Quito, not far from the base of the great volcano of Tungura- 
gua. That mountain was probably the center of disturbance, 
and the shock was experienced with disastrous effects over a 
district of country extending about 120 miles from north to 
south and about sixty miles from east to west. Every town 
and village comprehended within this district was reduced to 
ruins. The shocks, however, were felt, though in a milder 
form, over a much larger area, extending upwards of 500 miles 
from north to south and more than 400 miles from east to 
west. 

At Riobamba the shocks, which began at about eight o'clock 
in the morning, are said to have been vertical. Some faint 
idea may be formed of the extreme violence of this motion 
from the fact mentioned by Humboldt that the dead bodies of 



SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 367 

some of the inhabitants who perished were tossed over a small 
river to the height of several hundred feet, and landed on an 
adjacent hill. 

Vertical movements, so powerful and so long continued, 
could not fail to produce an enormous displacement of the 
ground, and to be very destructive to all buildings which it 
sustained. The soil was rent, and, as it were, torn asunder 
and twisted in an extraordinary manner. Several of the fis- 
sures opened and closed again; many persons were engulfed 
in them; but a few saved themselves by simply stretching out 
their arms, so that, when the fissure closed, the upper parts of 
their bodies were left above the ground, thus admitting of 
their being easily extricated. In some instances whole caval- 
cades of horsemen and troops of laden mules disappeared in 
those chasms; while some few escaped by throwing themselves 
back from the edge of the cleft. 

The amount of simultaneous elevation and depression of 
the ground was in some cases as much as twelve feet; and 
several persons who were in the choir of one of the churches 
escaped by simply stepping on the pavement of the street, 
which was brought up to a level with the spot where they 
stood. Instances occurred of vv^hole houses sinking bodily 
into the earth, till their roofs were fairly underground; but so 
little were the buildings thus engulfed injured, that their 
inhabitants were able still to live in them, and by the light of 
flambeaux to pass from room to room, the doors opening and 
shutting as easily as before. The people remained in them, 
subsisting on the provisions they had in store, for the space of 
two days, until they were extricated safe and sound. With 
the majority of the inhabitants, however, it fared otherwise. 
The loss of life in the city, and throughout the district most 
convulsed, was enormous, 40,000 persons altogether having 
perished. 

Of Riobamba itself the ruin was complete. When Hum- 
boldt took a plan of the place after the catastrophe, he could 



368 SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 

find nothing but heaps of stones eight or ten feet high; 
although the city had contained churches and convents, with 
many private houses several stories in height. The town of 
Quero was likewise entirely overthrown. 

At Tacunga the ruin was nearly as thorough, not a building 
having been left standing save an arch in the great square, and 
part of a neighboring house. The churches of St. Augustin, 
St. Domingo, and La Merced were at the moment thronged 
with people hearing mass. Not one escaped alive. All were 
buried, along with the objects of their worship, under the ruins 
of their consecrated buildings. In several parts of the town 
and its neighborhood there were opened larger fissures in the 
ground, whence quantities of water poured forth. The village 
of St. Philip, near Tacunga, containing a school in which 
upwards of forty children were assembled at the time, disap- 
peared bodily in a chasm. A great many other villages with 
their inhabitants were destroyed, by being either overthrown 
or engulfed. 

Even at Quito, although so distant from the centre of the 
disturbance, a great deal of damage was done to the churches 
and other public buildings by the shock, several being wholly 
ruined. The private houses and other buildings of moderate 
height, however, were spared. The superstitious inhabitants 
of this fair city, having been greatly alarmed by an unwonted 
display of luminous meteors, had devoted the previous day to 
carrying in procession through their streets the graven images 
and relics of their saints, in the vain hope of appeasing divine 
wrath. They were doomed to learn by experience that 
these idols were powerless to protect even the consecrated 
edifices dedicated to their honor, and in which they were 
enshrined. 

The Bay of Caracas was the scene of a dreadful earthquake 
in 1812. The city of Caracas was totally destroyed, and ten 
thousand of its inhabitants were buried beneath its ruins. 

The shock was most severe in the northern part of the 



SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 369 

town, nearest to the mountain of La Silla, which rises Hke a 
vast dome, with steep cliffs in the direction of the sea. The 
churches of the Trinity and Alta Gracia, the latter of which 
was more than one hundred and fifty feet high, and the nave 
of which was supported by pillars twelve or fifteen feet thick, 
were reduced to a mass of ruins not more than five or six feet 
high. The subsidence of the ruins was such that scarcely a 
vestige of pillar or column could be found. The barracks of 
San Carlos disappeared altogether, and a regiment of infantry, 
under arms to take part in a procession, was swallowed up 
with the exception of a few men. 

Nine-tenths of the town was annihilated. The houses 
which had not collapsed were cracked to such an extent that 
their occupants did not dare to re-enter them. To the esti- 
mate of 10,000 victims caused by the earthquake, must be 
added the many who succumbed, weeks and months after- 
ward, for want of food and relief. The night of Holy Thurs- 
day to Good Friday presented the most lamentable spectacle 
of desolation and woe which can well be conceived. The 
thick layer of dust, which, ascending from the ruins, obscured 
the air like mist, had again settled on the ground; the earth- 
quake shocks had ceased, and the night was calm and clear. 
A nearly full moon lighted up the scene, and the aspect of the 
sky was in striking contrast with that of a land strewn with 
corpses and ruins. 

Mothers might be seen running about with their children 
whom they were vainly trying to recall to life. Distracted 
families were searching for a brother, a husband, or some 
other relative, whose fate was unknown to them, but who, they 
hoped, might be discovered in the crowd. The injured lying 
half buried beneath the ruins were making piteous appeals for 
help, and over 2,000 were extricated. Never did human kind- 
ness reveal itself in a more touching and ingenious fashion 
than in the efforts made to relieve the sufferers whose cries 
were so heart-breaking to hear. There were no tools to clear 



370 SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 

away the rubbish, and the work of relief had to be performed 
with the bare hands. 

The injured and the sick who had escaped from the hospi- 
tals were carried to the banks of the river Guayra, where their 
only shelter was the foliage of the trees. The beds, the lint 
for binding up wounds, the surgical instruments, the medicines 
and all the objects of immediate necessity were buried beneath 
the ruins, and for the first few days there was a scarcity of 
everything, even of food. Water was also very" scarce inside 
the town, as the shock had broken up the conduits of the 
fountains and the upheaval had blocked the springs that fed 
them. In order to get water it was necessary to descend to 
the river Guayra, which had risen to a great height, and there 
were very few vessels left to get it in. 

It was necessary, also, to dispose of the dead with all dis- 
patch, and in the impossibility of giving decent burial to so 
many thousand corpses, detachments of men were told off to 
burn them. Funeral pyres were erected between the^heaps of 
ruins, and the ceremony lasted several days. 

The fierce shocks which had in less than a minute occa- 
sioned such great disasters could not be expected to have 
confined their destructive effects to one narrow zone of the 
continent, and these extended to a great part of Venezuela, 
all along the coast and specially among the mountains inland. 
The towns of La Guayra, Mayquetia, Antimano, Baruta, La 
Vega, San Felipe, and Merida were entirely destroyed, the 
number of deaths exceeding 5,000 at La Guayra and San 
Felipe. 

In November, 1822, the coast of Chile began to be violently 
convulsed by a succession of shocks, the first of which was of 
great severity. The heavings of the earth were quite percep- 
tible to the eye. The sea rose and fell to a great extent in 
the harbor of Valparaiso, and the ships appeared as if they 
were first rapidly forced through the water, and then struck on 
the ground. The town of Valparaiso and several others were 



SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 371 

completely overthrown. Sounds like those produced by the 
escape of steam accompanied this earthquake, and it was felt 
throughout a distance of 1,200 miles along the coast, a portion 
of which — extending to about 100 miles — was permanently 
raised to a height varying from two to four feet. At Quintero 
the elevation was four feet, and at Valparaiso three feet; but 
about a mile inland from the latter place the elevation was as 
much as six or seven feet; while the whole surface raised is 
estimated at nearly 100,000 square miles. 

The year 1868 proved very disastrous in South America. 
On the 13th of August of that year a series of shocks com- 
menced which were felt over a large extent of country, 
stretching from Ibarra on the northwestern border of Ecuador 
to Cabija on the coast of Bolivia, a distance of about 1,400 
miles. The effects were most severe about the southern por- 
tion of the Peruvian coast, where the towns of Iquique, Arica, 
Tacna, Port Hay, Arequipa, Pisco, and several others were 
destroyed, and in the northern parts of Ecuador, where the 
town of Ibarra was overthrown, burying nearly the whole of 
the inhabitants under its ruins. A small town in the same 
quarter, named Cotocachi, was engulfed, and its site is now 
occupied by a lake. The total loss of lives is estimated at 
upward of 20,000. 

On May 15, 1875, earthquake shocks of a serious character 
were experienced over large areas of Chile. At Valparaiso 
the shock lasted for forty-two seconds, with a vertical motion, 
so that the ground danced under foot. Two churches and 
many buildings were damaged. Another earthquake occurred 
at Valparaiso, July 8, when there were six shocks in success 
sion. The inhabitants took refuge in the streets, several 
people were killed, and much damage was done to property. 

About the middle of May, 1875, ^ most disastrous earth- 
quake visited New Granada, the region of its influence extend- 
ing over an area 500 miles in width. It was first felt 
perceptibly at Bogota; thence it traveled north, gaining inten- 



372 SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 

sity as it went, until it reached the southeast boundary line of 
Magdalena, where its work of destruction began. It traveled 
along the line of the Andes, destroying, in whole or in part, 
the cities of Cucuta, San Antonio, and Santiago, and causing 
the death of about 16,000 persons. On the evening of May 17, 
a strange rumbling sound was heard beneath the ground, but 
no shock was felt. This premonitory symptom was followed 
on the morning of the i8th by a terrific shock. "It suddenly 
shook down the walls of houses, tumbled down churches, and 
the principal buildings, burying the citizens in the ruins." 
Another shock completed the work of destruction, and shocks 
at intervals occurred for two days. "To add to the horrors of 
the calamity, the Lobotera volcano, in front of Santiago, sud- 
denly began to shoot out lava in immense quantities in the 
form of incandescent balls of fire, which poured into the city 
and set fire to many buildings." 

On the evening of April 12, 1878, a severe earthquake 
occurred in Venezuela which destroyed a considerable portion 
of the town of Cua. Immediately preceding the shock the 
sky was clear and the moon in perfect brightness. It lasted 
only two seconds, but in that time the center of the town, 
which was built on a slight elevation, was laid in ruins. The 
soil burst at several places, giving issue to water strongly 
impregnated with poisonous substances. 

The Isthmus of Panama v/as the scene of a succession of 
earthquakes in September, 1882, which, although the loss of life 
was small, were exceedingly destructive to property. On the 
morning of September 7, the inhabitants of Panama were 
roused from their beds by the occurrence of one of the longest 
and most severe shocks ever experienced in that earthquake- 
vexed region. Preceded by a hollow rumbling noise, the first 
shock lasted nearly thirty seconds, during which it did great 
damage to buildings. It was severely felt on board ship, pas- 
sengers declaring that the vessel seemed as if it were lifted 
bodily from the sea and then allowed to fall back. 



SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES DESTROYED 373 

Its effects on the Panama railway were very marked. The 
stone abutments of several of the bridges were cracked, and 
the earthworks sank in half a dozen places. In other places 
the rails v/ere curved as if they had been intentionally bent. 
Other shocks less severe followed the first, until at 11:30, 
another sharp shock alarmed the whole city, and drove the 
inhabitants at once from their houses into the squares. This 
earthquake was also severely felt at Colon, where it lasted for 
fully a minute, moving many buildings from their foundations, 
and creating intense alarm. A deep fissure, 400 yards in 
length, was opened in the earth. 

To what extent this tendency to earthquake shocks 
threatens the proposed Panama Canal, it is difficult to say. 
Beyond question a great earthquake would do immense dam- 
age to such a channel and its lock gates, but the advocates of 
the Panama route argue with apparent truth that even so it 
has a great advantage over the Nicaragua route. In the lat- 
ter, volcanoes are numerous, and eruptions not infrequent. 
Lake Nicaragua itself, through which the canal route passes, 
has in it several islands which are but volcanic peaks raised 
above the water, and the whole region is subject to disturb- 
ances from the interior of the earth. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN CENTRAL 
AMERICA AND MEXICO 

A Region Frequently Disturbed by Subterranean Forces — Guate- 
mala a Fated City — A Lake Eruption in Honduras Described by 
a Great Painter — City of San Jose Destroyed — Inhabitants 
Leave the Vicinity to Wander as Beggars — Disturbances on the 
Route of the Proposed Nicaraguan Canal — 5an Salvador is 
Shaken — Mexican Cities Suffer. 

CENTRAL AMERICA is continually being disturbed by 
subterranean forces. Around the deep bays of this vast 
and splendid region, upon the shores laved by the waters of 
the Pacific, and also about the large inland lakes, rise, like an 
army of giants, a number of lofty volcanoes. Whilst most of 
them are wrapped in slumber which has lasted for centuries, 
others occasionally roar and groan as if in order to keep them- 
selves awake, and to watch well over their sleeping compan- 
ions. The fire which consumes their entrails extends far 
beneath the soil, and often causes it to tremble. Three times 
within thirty years the town of Guatemala has been destroyed 
by earthquakes, and there is not in all Guatemala, Honduras, 
or any other state of Central America a single coast which has 
not been visited by one or more violent subterranean shocks. 
When the earthquakes occur in remote regions, far from the 
habitations of men, in the midst of virgin forests, or in the 
vicinity of l^-rge lakes, they give rise to very singular phe- 
nomena. 

In 1856, a painter, entrusted with an offtcial mission in Hon- 
duras^ witnessed an event of this kind, and though he sought 

374 



CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO 375 

to conceal his identity, he was generally believed to be Herr 
Heine, the well-known painter and explorer of Central Amer- 
ica. Upon the day in question he was sailing across a large 
lagoon named Criba, some twenty miles broad, the weather 
being calm, and the sun shining brilliantly. After having 
secured his boat to the shore, he had landed at the entrance 
to a beautiful little village commanding a view of the plain 
dotted with houses and with stately trees. Upon the opposite 
shore extended the forest, with the sea in the far distance. 
The chief inhabitant of the village having invited Herr Heine 
and his companions to come in and rest, the whole party were 
seated beneath the veranda of the house, engaged in pleasant 
conversation. Suddenly, a loud noise was heard in the forest. 
The birds flew off in terror; the cocoanut palms bent and 
writhed as if in panic, and large branches of them snapped off; 
shrubs were torn up from the ground and carried across the 
lake. All this was the effect of a whirlwind traveling through 
space from south to north. 

The whole affair lasted only a few seconds, and calm was 
re-established in Nature as suddenly as it had been disturbed. 
Conversation, of course, then turned upon the phenomenon 
just witnessed, and the natives maintained that atmospheric 
disturbances of this kind are the forerunners of severe earth- 
quakes or violent volcanic eruptions; some of them declaring 
that a disaster of this character had doubtless just occurred 
somewhere. The host, an elderly man much esteemed in the 
district for his knowledge, went on to describe many such 
catastrophes which he himself had witnessed. He spoke more 
particularly of the eruption of the volcano of Coseguina, in 
Nicaragua, which had been preceded by a fierce whirlwind, 
which had been so strong] that it carried pieces of rock and 
ashes to a distance of nearly a mile. The captain of a large 
sailing vessel had told him that upon the following day, when 
more than lOO miles from the coast, he had found the sea cov- 
ered with pumice-stone, and had experienced great difficulty in 



37t CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO 

threading a way for his vessel through these blocks of volcanic 
stone which were floating upon the surface like icebergs. 

Everyone, including the European, had his story to tell, 
and while the party were still in conversation, a terrible noise 
like thunder was heard, and the earth began to quake. At 
first the shocks were felt to be rising upward, but after a few 
seconds they became transformed into undulations tra-veling 
northv/ard, just as the sudden whirlwind had done. The soil 
undulated like the surface of a stormy sea, and the trees were 
rocked to and fro so violently that the topmost branches of 
the palms came in contact with the ground and snapped off. 
The traveler and his friends, believing themselves to be out 
of danger, were able to follow with ever-increasing Interest 
the rapid phases of the disturbance, when a strange and 
alarming phenomenon attracted their notice. 

"Our attention was called," relates Herr Heine, "to a terri- 
ble commotion in the direction of the lagoon, but I cannot 
express what I then saw, I did not know If I was awake or a 
prey to a nightmare; whether I was in the world of reality or 
in the world of spirits." 

The water of the lagoon disappeared as if It were engulfed 
in a sort of a subterranean cavern, or rather, it turned over 
upon itself, so that from the shore to the center of the lake the 
bed was quite empty. But In a few moments the water reap- 
peared, and miounting toward the center of the enormous 
basin, it formed an Immense column, which, roaring and 
flecked with foam, reached so high that It intercepted the sun- 
light. Suddenly, the column of water collapsed with a noise 
as of thunder, and the foaming waves dashed toward the 
shore. Herr Heine and his companions would have perished 
if they had not been standing upon elevated ground, and, as 
It was, they could not restrain an exclamation of horror as 
they saw this mass of water, like solid rock, rolling along the 
plain, carrying trees, large stones, and whole fields before it. 

"I saw all that without at first thinking of our own fate," 



CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO 377 

recites Herr Heine, "and I think that the greatness of the peril 
which threatened the whole country made me indifferent as 
to the fate of myself and m.y companions. In any case, when 
I saw my familiar companion, Carib, nearly carried off, I 
remained indifferent, and it was only after two others of my 
followers, Manuel and Michel, had had very narrow escapes, 
that I succeeded in shaking off my apathy, and going to their 
assistance." 

When the travelers, whose boat had disappeared, started 
for the town of San Jose, whence they had come in the morn- 
ing, they were able to judge for themselves as to the extent of 
the disaster. All the country which they had passed through 
had been laid waste. Large masses of rock had been detached 
from the mountains, and obstructed the course of streams 
which had overflown their banks or changed their course. 
Whole villages had been destroyed, and in all directions arose 
the lamentations of the unfortunate inhabitants. The region 
over which the waters of the lagoon had been carried was no 
longer to be identified as the same, covered as it was with 
debris of every kind, and with a thick layer of sand and rock. 

When they started in the morning, the travelers had left 
San Jose prosperous and full of cheerful stir, but when they 
returned at night they found it in ruins and almost deserted. 
The earthquake had overthrown all the houses with the excep- 
tion of about twenty, and these were very badly damaged. 

All the buildings in solid masonry, including the massive 
church, were heaps of ruins; and most of the inhabitants had 
perished. The Indians who were prowling in the outskirts of 
the town took advantage of the catastrophe to carry off all 
they could from the houses which were still standing and from 
the ruins of the others. The agility with which these Indians 
move about among the ruins and escape the falling walls is 
something wonderful, and they never hesitate to risk their 
lives for a very trifle. 

In Central America disasters of this kind invariably cause 



378 CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICQ 

many of the inhabitants to emigrate. Men, women, and chil- 
dren form themselves into groups, and travel through the 
country. They set the drama in which they have taken part 
to music, and they journey from one village to another, singing 
the rude verses they have composed, and then sending the hat 
around. After they have visited the whole of their own coun- 
try, they cross into the neighboring state, where they are also 
assured of a profitable tour. Thus for more than a year Hon- 
duras and Nicaragua were visited by bands of homeless vic- 
tims, chanting in monotone the eruption of Lake Criba and 
the terrible catastrophe of San Jose. 

The western half of Nicaragua, including thv? basin in 
which lie Lakes Managua and Nicaragua, is a volcanic center, 
including some of the largest of the twenty-five active cones 
and craters of Central America. Stretching from northwest 
to southeast, the string of craters beginning with Coseguina 
and Viejo reaches well into the lake basin. At the northern 
end of Lake Managua stands Momotombo, while from the lake 
itself rises Momotombito. On the northwestern shore of Lake 
Nicaragua lies the volcano Mombocho, while between the two 
lakes is the volcano Masaya. Near the center of Lake Nica- 
ragua are the two volcanoes of Madera and Omotepe. 

Since 1835 there have been six eruptions in Nicaragua, one 
of them, in 1883, being an outbreak in the crater of Omotepe 
in Lake Nicaragua, the route of the proposed Nicaraguan 
canal. The Coseguina eruption, the uproar of which was 
heard more than 1,000 miles away, threw the headland upon 
which it stands yZj feet out into the sea,~and rained ashes and 
pumice-stone over an area estimated at 1,200,000 square miles. 

Like all Spanish towns in America, San Salvador, capital of 
the republic of that name, covers a large area in proportion to 
its population. The houses are low, none of theni having 
more than one story, while the walls are very thick in order 
to be capable of resisting earthquakes. Inside each house of 
Khe better class is a courtyard, planted with trees, generally 



CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO 379 

having a fountain in the center. It was to these spacious 
courtyards that, in 1854, many of the inhabitants of San Salva- 
dor owed their Hves, as they found in them a refuge from their 
falHng houses. On the night of April 16, the city was reduced 
to a heap of ruins, only a single public building and very few 
private ones having been left standing. Nearly 5,000 of the 
inhabitants were buried in the ruins. There was a premoni- 
tory shock before the great one, and many took heed of its 
warning and escaped to places of safety, otherwise the loss of 
life would have been even more terrible. 

Guatemala v/as visited with a series of almost daily tremors 
from the middle of April to the middle of June, 1870. The 
most severe shock was on the 12th of June and was sufficiently 
powerful to overthrow many buildings. 

The republic of San Salvador was again visited by a great 
earthquake in October, 1878. Many towns, such as Incuapa, 
Guadeloupe, and Santiago de Marie, were almost totally 
destroyed, and many lives were lost. The shock causing the 
most damage had at first a kind of oscillatory movement last- 
ing over forty seconds and ending in a general upheaval of 
the earth; the result being that solid walls, arches, and strongly 
braced roofs, were broken and severed like pipe-stems. In the 
vicinity of Incuapa a number of villages disappeared entirely. 

The mountainous region of Mexico is highly volcanic, and 
earthquakes are of frequent occurrence. Very few of them, 
however, in the historic period, have occasioned great loss of 
either life or property. One of the most disastrous occurred 
in January, 1835, when the town of Acapulco was totally 
destroyed. In April, ten years later, the City of Mexico was 
much shaken. Considerable damage was done to buildings, 
especially to churches and other edifices of large size, several 
of which were reduced to ruins. The loss of life was limited 
to less than twenty. Probably the most serious convulsion the 
country has experienced was In 1858, when shocks were felt 
over almost all the republic, causing many deaths, and destroy- 



380 CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO 

ing much property. Over lOO people lost their lives on May 
II and 12, 1870, when the city of Oaxaca was visited by a suc- 
cession of severe shocks, which tore down many buildings. 
Since this time Mexico has been free from convulsions of any 
great magnitude, although slight earth tremors are of frequent 
occurrence in different parts of the country. 

Mexican volcanoes, likewise, are famous for their size, 
though of late years no great eruptions have occurred. There 
are many isolated peaks, all of volcanic origin, of which Ori- 
zaba, with a height of 18,314 feet, and Popocatepetl, 17,300 feet, 
the most renowned, are both active. The latter has one crater 
5,000 feet in diameter. From the summit the Pacific Ocean 
and the Gulf of Mexico are both visible. 

This crater has not erupted for many years, but in former 
times it threw its ashes a distance of sixty miles. One can 
descend into its depths fully 1,000 feet, and view its sulphur 
walls, hung with stalactites of ice, or see its columns of vapor 
spouting here and there through crevices that extend down 
into the interior of the earth. In the ancient Aztec and Toltec 
mythology of Mexico, this was the Hell of Masaya. 

Nowadays great sulphur mines on the peak bring profit to 
the owners, and ice is quarried from the same vicinity to sup- 
ply the neighboring city of Puebla. 



CHAPTER XXXIIl 

CHARLESTON, GALVESTON JOHNSTOWN — OUR 
AMERICAN DISASTERS 

Earthquake Shock in South Carolina — Many Lives Lost in the Riven 
City — Flames Follow the Convulsion — Galveston Smitten by 
Tidal Wave and Hurricane — Thousands Die in Flood and Shat- 
tered Buildings — ^The Gulf Coast Desolated — Johnstown, Penn- 
sylvania, Swept by Water from a Bursting Reservoir — Scenes 
of Horror — Earthquakes on the California Coast. 

OUR own land has experienced very few great convul- 
sions of nature. True, there have been frequent 
earthshocks^in California, and all along the Western coast, 
and occasionally slight tremors have been felt in other sec- 
tions, but the damage done to life and property has been in 
almost every instance comparatively light. The only really 
great disaster of this class that has been recorded in the 
United States since the white man first set his foot upon the 
soil, occurred in 1886, when the partial destruction of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, was accomplished by earthquake and fire. 

On the morning of August 28, a slight shock was felt 
throughout North and South Carolina, and in portions of 
Georgia. It was evidently a warning of the calamity to fol- 
lov/, but naturally was not so recognized, and no particular 
attention was paid to it. But on the night of August 31, at 
about ten o'clock, the city was rent asunder by a great shock 
v/hich swept over it, carrying death and destruction in its path. 

During the night there were ten distinct shocks, but they 
were only the subsiding of the earth-waves. The disaster was 
wrought by the first. Its force may be inferred from the fact 

381 



382 CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 

that the whole area of the country between the Atlantic coast 
and the Mississippi river, and as far to the north as Milwau- 
kee, felt its power to a greater or lesser degree. 

Charleston, however, was the special victim of this ele- 
mental destruction. The city was in ruins, two-thirds of its 
houses were uninhabitable. Railroads and telegraph lines 
were torn up and destroyed. Fires burst forth in different 
sections of the city, adding to the horror of the panic-stricken 
people. Forty lives were lost, over loo seriously wounded 
were reported, and property valued at nearly $5,000,000 was 
destroyed. 

A writer in the Charleston News and Courier gave a vivid 
account of the catastrophe. Extracts from his story follow: 

"It is not given to many men to look in the face of the 
destroyer and yet live; but it is little to say that the group of 
strong men who shared the experiences of that awful night 
will carry with them the recollection of it to their dying day 
None expected to escape. A sudden rush was simultaneously 
made for the open air, but before the door was reached all 
reeled together to the tottering wall and stopped, feeling that 
hope was vain; that it was only a question of death within the 
building or without, to be buried by the sinking roof or 
crushed by the toppling walls. Then the uproar slowly died 
away in seeming distance. 

"The earth was still, and O, the blessed relief of that still- 
ness! But how rudely the silence was broken! As we dashed 
down the stairway and out into the street, already on every 
side arose the shrieks, the cries of pain and fear, the prayers 
and wailings of terrified women and children, commingling 
with the hoarse shouts of excited men. Out in the street the 
air was filled with a whitish cloud of dry, stifling dust, through 
which the gaslights flickered dimly. On every side were 
hurrying forms of men and women, bareheaded, partly dressed, 
many of whom were crazed with fear and excitement. Here 
a woman is supported, half fainting, in the arms of her bus- 



CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 383 

band, who vainly tries to soothe her while he carries her to the 
open space at the street corner, where present safety seems 
assured; there a woman lies on the pavement with upturned 
face and outstretched limbs, and the crowd passes her by, not 
pausing to see whether she be alive or dead. 

"A sudden light flares through a window overlooking the 
street, it becomes momentarily brighter, and the cry of fire 
resounds from the multitude. A rush is made toward the 
spot. A man is seen through the flames trying to escape. 
But at this moment, somewhere — out at sea, overhead, deep 
in the ground — is heard again the low, ominous roll which is 
already too well known to be mistaken. It grows louder and 
nearer, like the growl of a wild beast swiftly approaching his 
prey. All is forgotten in the frenzied rush for the open space, 
where alone there is hope of security, faint though it be. 

"The tall buildings on either hand blot out the skies and 
stars and seem to overhang every foot of ground between 
them; their shattered cornices and coping, the tops of their 
frowning walls, appear piled from both sides to the center of 
the street. It seems that a touch would now send the shat- 
tered masses left standing, down upon the people below, who 
look up to them and shrink together as the tremor of the 
earthquake again passes under them, and the mysterious 
reverberations swell and roll along, like some infernal drum- 
beat summoning them to die. It passes away, and again is 
experienced the blessed feeling of deliverance from impending 
calamity, which it may well be believed evokes a mute but 
earnest offering of mingled prayer and thanksgiving from 
every heart in the throng." 

One of the most awful tragedies of modern times visited 
Galveston, Texas, on Saturday, September 8, 1900. A tem- 
pest, so terrible that no words can adequately describe its 
intensity, and a flood which swept over the city like a raging 
sea, left death and ruin behind it. Sixty-seven blocks in a 
thickly populated section of the city were devastated, and not 



384 CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 

a house withstood the storm. The few that might have he\d 
together if dependent upon their own construction and foun- 
dations, were buried beneath the stream of buildings a^nd 
wreckage that rushed west from the Gulf of Mexico, demolish- 
ing hundreds of homes and carrying the unfortunate inmates 
to their death. 

A terrific v/ind, which attained a velocity of from lOO to 120 
miles an hour, blew the debris inland and piled it in a hill 
ranging from ten to twenty feev nigh. Beneath this long ridge 
many hundred men, women, and children were buried, and 
cattle, horses and dogs, and other animals, were piled together 
in one confused mass. 

The principal work of destruction was completed in six 
short hours, beginning at three o'clock in the afternoon and 
ending at nine o'clock the same night. In that brief time the 
accumulations of many a life time were swept away, thousands 
of lives went out, and the dismal Sunday morniiig following 
the catastrophe found a stricken population paralyzed and 
helpless. 

Every hour the situation changed for the worse, and the 
mind became dazed midst the gruesome scenes. The bodies 
of human beings, the carcasses of animals, were strewn on 
every hand., The bay was filled with ^them. Like jelly-fish, 
the corpses were swept with the changing tide. Here a face 
protruded above the water; there the foot of a child; here the 
long, silken tresses of a young girl; there a tiny hand, and just 
beneath the glassy surface of the water full outlines of bodies 
might be seen. Such scenes drove men and women to desper- 
ation and insanity. A number sought freedom in the death 
which they fought so stoutly. A young girl, who survived to 
find mother, father and sisters dead, crept far out on the 
wreckage and threv/ herself into the bay. 

During the storm and afterward a great deal of looting 
was done. Many stores had been closed, their owners leaving 
to look after their families. The wind forced in the windov/s, 



CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 385 

tnd left the goods prey for the marauders. Ghouls stripped 
the dead bodies of jewelry and articles of value. Captain 
Rafferty, commanding the United States troops in the city, 
was asked for aid, and he sent seventy men, the remnant of a 
battery of artillery, to do police duty. Three regiments were 
sent from Houston and the city was placed under martial law. 
Hundreds of desperate men roamed the streets, crazed with 
liquor, which many had drunk because nothing else could be 
obtained with which to quench their thirst. Numberless bot- 
tles and boxes of intoxicating beverages were scattered about 
and easy to obtain. 

Robbery and rioting continued during the night, and as the 
town was in darkness, the effort of the authorities to control 
the lawless element was not entirely successful. Big bonfires 
v/ere built at various places from heaps of rubbish to enable 
troops the better to see where watchfulness was needed. 
Reports said that more than loo looters and vandals were 
slain in the city and along the island beach. 

The most rigid enforcement of martial law was not able to 
suppress robbery entirely. Thirty-three negroes, with effects 
taken from dead bodies, were tried by court-martial. They 
were convicted and ordered to be shot. One negro had 
twenty-three human fingers with rings on them in his pocket. 

An eye-witness of the awful horror said: "I was going to 
take the train at midnight, and was at the station when the 
worst of the storm came up. There were 150 people in the 
depot, and we all remained there for nine hours. The back 
part of the building blew in Sunday morning and I returned to 
the Tremont house. The streets were literally filled with 
dead and dying people. The Sisters' Orphan Hospital was a 
terrible scene. I saw there over ninety dead children and 
eleven dead Sisters. We took the steamer Allen Charlotte 
across the bay, up Buffalo bay, over to Houston in the morning, 
and I saw fully fifty dead bodies floating in the water. I saw 
one dray with sixty-four dead bodies being drawn bv fouif 



386 CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 

horses to the wharves, where the bodies were unloaded on a 
tug and taken out in the gulf for burial." , 

Mr. Wortham, ex-secretary of state, after an inspection of 
the scene, made this statement: "The situation at Galveston 
beggars description. Fully seventy-five per cent, of the busi- 
ness portion of the town is wrecked, and the same percentage 
of damage is to be found in the residence district. Along the 
wharf front great ocean steamers have bodily dumped them- 
selves on the big piers, and lie there, great masses of iron and 
wood that even fire cannot totally destroy. The great ware- 
houses along the water front are smashed in on one side, 
unroofed and gutted throughout their length; their contents 
either piled in heaps or along the streets. Small tugs and 
sailboats have jammed themselves into buildings, where they 
were landed by the incoming waves and left by the receding 
waters. 

"Houses are packed and jammed in great confusing masses 
in all the streets. Great piles of human bodies, dead animals, 
rotting vegetation, household furniture, and fragments of the 
houses themselves, are piled in confused heaps right in the 
main streets of the city. Along the Gulf front human bodies 
are floating around like cordwood." 

As time passed on the terrible truth was pressed home on 
the minds of the people that the mortality by the storm had 
possibly reached 8,000, or nearly one-fourth of the entire pop' 
ulation. The exact number will never be known, and no list 
of the dead could be accurately made out, for the terrible 
waters carried to sea and v/ashed on distant and lonely shores 
many of the bodies. The unknown dead of the Galveston 
horror will forever far surpass the number of those who are 
known to have perished in that awful night, when the tempest 
raged and the storm was on the sea, piling the waters to 
unprecedented heights on Galveston island. 

One of the great catastrophes of the century in the United 
States was the flood that devastated the Conemaugh valley in 



CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 387 

Pennsylvania, on May 31, 1889. Though the amount of property 
destroyed was over $10,000,000 worth, this was the sHghtest 
element of loss. That which makes the Johnstown flood so 
exceptional is the terrible fact that it swept away half as many 
lives as did the battle of Gettysburg, one of the bloodiest of 
the Civil War, and transformed a rich and prosperous valley 
for more than twenty miles into a vast charnel-house. 

Johnstov^n is located on the Pennsylvania Railroad, seventy- 
eight miles southeast of Pittsburg, and was at the time men- 
tioned a city of about 28,000 inhabitants. It was the most 
important of the chain of boroughs annihilated; and as such 
has given the popular title by which the disaster is known. 
The Conemaugh valley has long been famous for the beauty 
of its scenery. Lying on the lower western slope of the Alle- 
ghany mountains, the valley, enclosed between lofty hills, 
resembles in a general way an open curved hook, running from 
South Fork, where the inundation first made itself felt, in a 
southwesterly direction to Johnstown, and thence sixteen 
miles northwest to New Florence, where the more terrible 
effects of the flood ended, though its devastation did not 
entirely cease at that point. 

A lateral valley extends about six miles from South Fork 
in a southeasterly direction, at the head of which was located 
the Conemaugh Lake reservoir, owned and used as a summer 
resort by the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club of Pitts- 
burg. In altitude this lake was about 275 feet above the 
Johnstown level, and it was about two and one-half miles long 
and one and one-half miles in its greatest width. In many 
places it was 100 feet deep, and it held a larger volume of 
water than any other reservoir in the United States. The 
dam that restrained the waters was nearly 1,000 feet in length, 
1 10 feet in height, ninety feet thick at the base, and twenty- 
five feet wide at the top, which was used as a driveway.. For 
ten years or more this dam was believed to be a standing 
menace to the Conemaugh valley in ^imes of freshet, though 



388 CHARLESTON, GALVESTON, JOHNSTOWN 

fully equal to all ordinary emergencies. With a dam which 
was admitted to be structurally weak and with insufficient 
means of discharging a surplus volume, it was feared that it 
was only a matter of time before such a reservoir, situated in 
a region notorious for its freshets, would yield to the enormous 
pressure and send down its resistless waters like an avalanche 
to devastate the valley. 

This is precisely what it did do. A break came at three 
o'clock in the afternoon of May 31, caused by protracted 
rains, which raised the level of the lake. Men were at once 
put to work to open a sluice-way to ease the pressure, but all 
attempts were in vain. Two hours before the break came, the 
threatened danger had been reported in Johnstown, but little 
attention was paid to it, on the ground that similar alarms had 
previously proved ill-founded. There is no question that 
ample warning was given and that all the people in the valley 
could have escaped had they acted promptly. 

When the center of the dam yielded at three o'clock, it did 
so in a break of 300 feet wide. Trees and rocks were hurled 
high in the air, and the vast, boiling flood rushed down the 
ravine like an arrow from a bow. It took one hour to empty 
the reservoir. In less than five minutes the flood reached 
South Fork, and thence, changing the direction of its rush, 
swept through the valley of the Conemaugh. With the pro- 
cession of the deluge, trees, logs, debris of buildings, rocks, 
railroad iron, and the indescribable mass of drift were more 
and more compacted for battering power; and what the 
advance bore of the flood spared, the mass in the rear, made 
up of countless battering rams, destroyed. 

The distance from Conemaugh lake to Johnstown, some- 
thing over eighteen miles, was traversed in about seven min- 
utes; and here the loss of life and the damage to property was 
simply appalling. Survivors who passed through the experi- 
ence safely declare its horrors to have been far beyond the 
power of words to narrate. After the most thorough possible 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED BY A 

VOLCANO 

Fifty Thousand Men, Women and Children Slain in an Instant — 
The Island Capital Obliterated— flolten Fire and Suffocating 
Oases Rob Multitudes of Life— Death Reigns in the Streets of 
the Stricken City— The Governor and Foreign Consuls Die at 
their Posts of Duty — Burst of Flame from Mount Pelee Completes 
the Ruin— No Escape for the Hapless Residents in the Fated 
Town— Scenes of Suffering Described— St. Pierre the Pompeii 
of Today— Desolation over All— Few Left to Tell the Tale of 
the Morning of Disaster. 

BEHOLD a peaceful city in the Caribbean sea, beautiful 
with the luxuriant vegetation of a tropic isle, happy as 
the carefree dwellers in such a spot may well be, at ease with 
the comforts of climate and the natural products which make 
severe labor unnecessary in these sea-girt colonies. Rismg 
from the waterfront to the hillsides that lead back toward the 
slopes of Mount Pelee, St. Pierre, metropolis of the French 
island of Martinique, sits in picturesque languor, the blue 
waves of the Caribbean murmuring on the beaches, the ver- 
dure-clad ridges of the mountain range forming a background 
of greenery for the charming picture. Palms shade the nar- 
row, clean, white, paved streets; trade goes on at the wharves; 
the people visit in social gaiety, dressed in white or bright- 
colored garments, as is the fashion in these islands, where 
somberness seldom rules; all the forms of life are cheerful, 
light-hearted, even thoughtless. 

389 



390 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 

Suddenly a thrall of black despair Is cast over the happv 
island. The city of pleasure becomes one great tomb. Of its 
30,000 men, women and children, all but a few are slain. The 
Angel of Death has spread his pall over them, a fiery breath 
has smitten them, and they have fallen as dry stubble before 
the sweep of flame. A city is dead. An island is desolate. 
A world is grief-stricken. 

And v/hat was the awful power of evil that robbed of life 
50,000 in city and neighboring villages almost in a moment? 
It was this verdure-clad Mount Pelee, their familiar sentinel, 
in the shade of whose sheltering palms they had built their 
summer resorts or found their innocent pleasures. It was this 
shadowing summit, now suddenly become a fiery vent through 
which earth's artilleries blazed forth their terrible volleys of 
molten projectiles, lava masses, huge drifts of ashes, and 
clouds of flaming, noxious, gaseous emanations to suffocate 
every living thing. Nothing could withstand such a bombard- 
ment from the exhaustless magazines within the vast chambers 
of the planet, no longer kindly Mother Earth, benign in the 
beauty of May-time, but cruel, relentless, merciless alike to all. 

St. Pierre and the island of Martinique are no strangers to 
destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In August, 
1767, an earthquake killed 1,600 persons in St. Pierre. In 1851 
Mount Pelee threatened the city with destruction. St. Pierre 
was practically destroyed once before, in August, 1891, by the 
great hurricane which swept over the islands. The harbor of 
St. Pierre has been a famous one for centuries. It was off this 
harbor on April 12, 1782, that Admiral Rodney's fleet defeated 
the French squadron under the Comte de Grasse and wrested 
the West Indies from France. 

St. Pierre was the largest town and the commercial center 
of the islando It was the largest town in the French West 
Indies, and was well built and prosperous. It had a population 
of about 30,000. It was divided into two parts, known as the 
upper and lower towns. The lower town was compact with 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 391 

narrow streets, and unhealthy. The upper town was cleaner, 
healthier, and handsomely laid out. There was in the upper 
town a botanical garden and an old Catholic college, as well 
as a fine hospital. 

Mount Pelee, the largest of the group of volcanic moun- 
tains, is about 4,400 feet high. It had long been inactive as a 
volcano, although in August, 185 1, it had a violent eruption. 
It is in the northwestern end of the island, and near the foot 
of its western slope, fronting the bay, St. Pierre was built. 

The Consuls resident at St. Pierre were: For the United 
States, T. T. Prentis; Great Britain, J. Japp; Denmark, M. E. 
S. Meyer; Italy, P. Plissonneau; Mexico, E. Dupie; Sweden 
and Norway, Gustave Borde. There were four banks in the 
city — the Banque de la Martinique, Banque Transatlantique, 
Colonial Bank of London, and the Credit Foncier Colonial. 
There were sixteen commission merchants, twelve dry-goods 
stores, twenty-two provision dealers, twenty-six rum manufac- 
turers, eleven colonial produce merchants, four brokers, and 
two hardware dealers. 

The whole area of the island, near 400 square miles, is 
mountainous. Besides Mount Pelee, there are, further south 
and about midway of the oval, the three crests of Courbet, and 
all along the great ridge are the black and ragged cones of 
old volcanoes. In the section south of the deep bay there are 
two less elevated and more irregular ridges, one running 
southeast and terminating in the Piton Vauclin, and the other 
extending westward and presenting to view on the coast 
Mounts Caraibe and Constant. 

The mountainous interior is torn and gashed with ancient 
earthquake upheavals, and there are perpendicular cliffs, deep 
clefts and gorges, black holes filled with water, and swift tor- 
rents dashing over precipices and falling into caverns — in a 
word, all the fantastic savagery of volcanic scenery, but the 
whole covered with the rich verdure of the tropics. 

The total population of the island was reckoned at 175,000, 



392 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 

of whom 10,000 were whites, 15,000 of Asiatic origin, and 150,- 
000 blacks of all shades from ebony to light octoroon. 

Martinique has two interesting claims to distinction in that 
the Empress Josephine was born there and that Mme. de 
Maintenon passed her girlhood on the island as Franciose 
d' Aubigne. At Fort de France there is a marble statue of the 
Empress Josephine. 

It was just before eight o'clock on the morning of Thurs- 
day, May 8, 1902, that the lava and gases of the crater of 
Mount Pelee burst their bounds and bore destruction to the 
fated city. Within thirty seconds perhaps 50,000 persons were 
killed, and the streets of St. Pierre were heaped with dead 
bodies, soon to be incinerated or buried in the ashes that fell 
from the fountain of flame. Within ten minutes the city itself 
had disappeared in a whirling flame vomited from the m.oun- 
tain, though for some hours the inflammable portions of the 
buildings continued to burn, until all was consumed that could 
be. The volcano whose ancient crater for more than fifty 
years had been occupied by a quiet lake in which picnic parties 
bathed, discharged a torrent of fiery mud, which rolled tov/ard 
the sea, engulfing everything before it. The city was no more. 

St. Pierre was destroyed, not by lava streams and not by 
showers of red-hot rocks, but by one all-consuming blast of 
suffocating, poisonous, burning gases. Death came to the 
inhabitants instantly. It was not a matter of hours or minutes. 
It was a matter of seconds. They did not burn to death. 
They died by breathing flame and their bodies were burned 
afterward. It is not merely true that no person inside the 
limits of the town escaped, but it is probably a literal fact that 
no person lived long enough to take two steps toward escape' 
These facts will go on record as the most astounding in the his- 
tory of human catastrophes. 

The manner of the annihilation of St. Pierre is unique in 
the history of the world. Pompeii was not a parallel, for 
Pompeii was eaten up by demoniac rivers of lava, and lava 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 393 

became its tomb. But where St. Pierre once stood there is not 
even a lava bed now. The city is gone from the earth. 

The half-dead victims who escaped on the Roddam or were 
brought away by the Suchet, talked of a "hurricane of flame" 
that had come upon them. That phrase was no figure of 
speech, but a literal statement of what happened. 

When the first rescue parties reached the scene they found 
bodies lying in the streets of the city— or rather on the ground 
where streets once were, for in many places it was impossible 
to trace the line between streets and building sites— to which 
death came so suddenly that the smiles on the faces did not 
have time to change to the lines of agony. 

That does not mean death by burning, though the bodies 
had been charred and half-consumed, nor does it mean suffo- 
cation, for suffocation is slow. It can mean only that the bath 
of burning fumes into which the city was plunged affected the 
victims like a terribly virulent poison when the first whiff of 
the gases entered their lungs. 

There were many of the victims who died with their hands 
to their mouths. That one motion of the arm was probably 
the only one that they made before they became unconscious. 
Others fell to their faces and died with their lips pressed into 
the earth. There was no time to run, perhaps no time even 
to cry out, no time to breathe a prayer. It was as St. Pierre 
had been just dipped into an immense white-hot furnace and 
then set out to cool. Mount Pelee went sputtering on, but that 
made no longer any difference. In the city all life was 
destroyed. 

Every combustible thing was burned. Animal bodies, full 
of moisture, glowed awhile and then remained charred wrecks. 
Wood and other easily combustible things burned to ashes. 
On the ground lay the bodies, amidst heaps of hot mud, heaps 
of gleaming ashes and piles of volcanic stones. That was all. 
That St. Pierre and the strip of coast to the north and south 
of it were burned in an instant was probably due to the first 



394 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 

break in the mountain coming on its western side and imme- 
diately above them, though the direction of the wind may have 
had a little to do with it. In this way one can understand how 
the mountain resort of Morne Rouge, where about 600 people 
v»rere staying, escaped annihilation. Rocks and dust and boil- 
ing mud fell upon it, no doubt harming it, but they did not 
destroy it, for it was out of the pathway of the first awful blast. 

For days after this most av/ful of blasts, beginning indeed 
immediately after the first explosion, Mount Pelee continued 
sending down lava streams in many directions. They filled 
the ravines and followed river courses and made their way to 
the sea. They did great destruction, but most of the inhab- 
itants in their course had some chance at least to escape. 

From Le Precheur around the northern end of the island, 
to Grande Riviere, Macouba, and Grande Anse, directly 
across the island from St. Pierre, the lava was flowing. Great 
crevasses opened from time to time in the hills. The earth 
undulated like waves. Rivers were thrown out of their courses 
by the change in land levels. In some places they submerged 
the land and formed lakes. In other places they were licked 
up by the lava that flowed on them and turned them to steam. 

Constant rumblings, thunder and lightning storms made 
the surroundings so terrible that many persons actually died 
of fright. 

The West Indian newspapers printed just before the day of 
the great eruption, and received in foreign countries after the 
catastrophe, serve to give a graphic picture of the situation in 
St, Pierre as It was before the outer world knew of the threat 
of danger. To them, and the letters written and mailed to 
foreign correspondents before the fatal day, we owe the clear 
idea of what was going on. 

The Voice of St. Lucia, printed at Castries, had this story 
on May 8 of the days preceding the destruction of St. Pierre: 

"Mount Pelee began to show signs of uneasiness in the last 
days of April. On the 3d Inst. It began to throw out dense vol- 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 395 

umes of smoke, and at midnight belched out flames, accom- 
panied by rumbUng noises. Flames were again visible at 
half-past five o'clock the next morning, and similar noises were 
audible. At the foot of Mount Pelee are the villages of Pre- 
cheurs and Ste. Philomene. The inhabitants were thrown into 
great consternation by the sights and sounds, and especially 
by the darkening of the day by volumes of thick smoke and 
clouds of ashes, which were falling. There was an exodus 
from all over the district. 

"St. Pierre was on the morning of May 3 covered with a 
layer of ashes about a quarter of an inch thick, and appeared 
as if enveloped in a fog. The mountain was wrapped in the 
smoke which issued from it. The greatest anxiety prevailed, 
and all business was suspended. 

"A very anxious morning was passed on the island May 4. 
Thanks, however, to a sea breeze, the situation appeared bet- 
ter at eleven o'clock, but as the breeze died away at sunset, 
ashes again began to fall, and the mountain and its environs 
presented a most dismal spectacle, causing much alarm as to 
what the night would bring forth. Nothing happened, how- 
ever, and on Monday morning May 5, although everything 
was not quite serene, the aspect was decidedly encouraging. 
Less excitement was visible. 

"At about nine o'clock on the morning of the dth a private 
telegram came from Martinique, stating that the Pllssonneau 
family had chartered the steamer Topaze, one of the boats of 
the Compagnle Girard, and had started for St. Lucia. At 
about eleven o'clock the Topaze arrived with Mrs. Pllssonneau, 
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pllssonneau and three children, Mrs. 
Pierre Pllssonneau and child, and others. 

"They report that at noon on Monday a stream of burning 
lava suddenly rushed down the southwestern slope of the 
mountain, and, following the course of the Riviere Blanche, 
the bed of which is dry at this season of the year, overwhelmed 
everything which obstructed its rush to the sea. Estates and 



396 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 

buildings were covered up by the fiery wave, which appeared 
to rise to a height of some twenty feet over an area of nearly 
a quarter of a mile. When the torrent had poured itself into 
the sea, it was found that the Guerin sugar factory, on the 
beach, five miles from the mountain and two from St. Pierre, 
was imbedded in lava. The burning mass of liquid had taken 
only three minutes from the time it was first perceived to 
reach the sea, five miles away. 

"Then a remarkable phenomenon occurred. The sea 
receded all along the western coast for about a hundred yards 
and returned with gentle strength, covering the whole of the 
sea front of St. Pierre and reaching the first houses on the 
Place Bertin. This created a general panic, and the people 
made for the hills. Though the sea retired again, without 
great damage being done ashore or afloat, the panic contin- 
ued, intensified by terrible detonations, which broke from the 
mountain at short intervals, accompanied with dense emis- 
sions of smoke and lurid flashes of flame. 

"This was awful in daylight, but, when darkness fell, it was 
more terrible still, and, at each manifestation of the volcano's 
anger, people, in their nightclothes, carrying children, and 
lighted by any sort of lamp or candle they had caught up in 
their haste, ran out into the dark streets, wailing and scream- 
ing, and running aimlessly about the town. 

"The mental strain becoming unendurable^ the Topaze was 
got ready, and the refugees hurriedly went on board and 
started for St. Lucia. In the afternoon the gentlemen of the 
party, having placed their families in safety, returned by the 
Topaze to Martinique. 

"In the meantime, telegrams were being sent from Martin- 
ique, imploring that a steamer be chartered to bring away ter- 
rified people from St. Pierre. But the superintendent of the 
Royal Mail company, at Barbados, would not allow one of the 
coasting boats, the only steamer available, to go to Martin- 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 397 

ique. At a little before five o'clock in the afternoon cable 
communication was interrupted and remains so." 

Martinique mails, forwarded just prior to the disaster, 
arrived in Paris on May i8. The newspapers printed a num- 
ber of private letters from St. Pierre, giving many details of 
events immediately preceding the catastrophe. The most in- 
teresting of these was a letter from a young lad}'-, who was 
among the victims, dated May 3. After describing the aspect 
of St. Pierre before dawn, the town being lit up with flames 
from the volcano, everything covered with ashes, and the 
people excited, yet not panic-stricken, she said: 

"My calmness astonished me. I am awaiting the event 
tranquilly. My only suffering is from the dust which pene- 
trates everywhere, even through closed windows and doors. 
We are all calm. Mama is not a bit anxious. Edith alone 
is frightened. If death awaits us there will be a numerous 
company to leave the world. Will it be by fire or asphyxia? 
It will be what God wills. You will have our last thought. 
Tell brother Robert that we are still alive. This will, perhaps, 
be no longer true when this letter reaches you." 

The Edith mentioned was a lady visitor who was among the 
rescued. This and other letters inclosed samples of the ashes 
which fell over the doomed town. The ashes were a bluish- 
gray, impalpable powder, resembling newly ground flour and 
slightly smelling of sulphur. 

Another letter, written during the afternoon of May 3, says: 

"The population of the neighborhood of the mountain is 
flocking to the city. Business is suspended, the inhabitants are 
panic-stricken and the firemen are sprinkling the streets and 
roofs, to settle the ashes, which are filling the air." 

The letters indicate that evidences of the impending disas- 
ter were numerous five days before it occurred. 

Still another letter says: 

"St. Pierre presents an aspect unknown to the natives. It 
is a city sprinkled with gray snow, a winter scene without cold. 



398 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 

The inhabitants of the neighborhood are abandoning their 
houses, villas and cottages, and are flocking to the city. It is 
a curious pell-mell of women, children and barefooted peas- 
ants, big, black fellows loaded with household goods. The air 
is oppressing; your nose burns. Are we going to die asphyx- 
iated? What has to-morrow in store for us? A flow of lava, 
rain or stones or a cataclysm from the sea? Who can tell? 
Will give you my last thought if I must die." 

A St. Pierre paper of May 3 announces that an excursion 
arranged for the next day to Mount Pelcie had been post- 
poned, as the crater was inaccessible, adding that notice would 
be issued v^^hen the excursion would take place. 

An inhabitant of Morne Rouge, a town of 600 inhabitants, 
seven kilometers from St. Pierre, who was watching the vol- 
cano at the moment of the catastrophe, said that there were 
seven luminous points on the volcano's side just before it burst. 

He said that all about him when the explosion came, there 
was a terrible suction of air which seemed to be dragging him 
irresistibly toward the mountain in spite of all his resistance. 
The volcano then emitted a sheet of flame which swept down 
toward St. Pierre. There was no sharp, distinct roar of explo- 
sion as v»rhen a great cannon is fired, but only awful jarring 
rumblings. 

He thought that the entire outburst that did all the work 
of havoc did not last more than thirty seconds. Then there 
was complete darkness for ten minutes, caused by the dense 
volum.es of sulphurous smoke and clouds of dust and shattered 
rocks. The entire country all about St. Pierre was turned into 
a chaotic waste. All the trees were either torn up by the roots 
or snapped off, to lie level with the ground. 

The outlines of the town but imperfectly remained. The 
tangle of debris was such that after the rescuers came, it was 
with difficulty that the course of streets could be followed. 

In spite of the horrible surroundings, and the universal 
wave of human sympathy which had been evoked, looting 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED 399 

began almost as soon as relief. As soon as it was possible to 
land, ghouls began to rob the bodies of the victims. The mon- 
sters plied their nefarious trade in small boats. Skimming 
along the shore they would watch for an opening when troops 
and rescue parties were elsewhere, then land, grab what they 
could, and sail away again. 

The United States government tug Potomac, while on her 
way to Fort de France with supplies from San Juan, Porto 
Rico, overhauled a small boat containing five negroes and a 
white man. Something In the appearance of the men excited 
the suspicions of the commander of the Potomac, Lieutenant 
McCormick, and he ordered them to come on board. When 
they were searched, their pockets were found to be filled with 
coin and jewelry. Rings in their possession had evidently 
been stripped from the fingers of the dead. Lieutenant 
McCormick placed them all under arrest, and later turned 
them over to the commander of the French cruiser Suchet for 
punishment. 

Thus it was that no detail of grewsome horror was lacking 
to make the shocking tale of the destruction of St. Pierre 
complete. 

The hour of the disaster Is placed at about eight o'clock. 
A clerk in Fort de France called up another by telephone in 
St. Pierre and was talking with him at 7:55 by Fort de France 
time, when he heard a sudden, awful shriek, and then could 
hear no more. 

"The little that actually happened then can be briefly, very 
briefly told," says W. S. Merriwether, the New York Herald 
correspondent. "It is known that at one minute there lay a 
city smiling in the summer morning; that in another it was a 
mass of swirling flames, with every soul of its 30,000 writhing 
in the throes of death. One moment and church bells were 
ringing joyful chimes in the ears of St. Pierre's 30,000 people — 
the next the flame-clogged bells were sobbing a requiem for 
30,000 dead. One waft of morning breeze flowed over cathe- 



/ U. Cs? ^ & «^ 



/« 



400 ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, ANNIHILATED f 

'•^ ■' -- ■■'" • A 

dral spires and domes, over facades and arches and roofs and )^ 
angles of a populous and light-hearted city — the next swept a f J 
lone mass of white hot ruins. The sun glistened one moment "r"- 
on sparkling fountains, green parks and fronded palms — its 
next ray shone on fusing metal, blistered, flame-wrecked 
squares and charred stumps of trees. One day and the C4ty 
was all light and color, all gayety and grace — the next its ruins 
looked as though they had been crusted over with twenty cen- 
turies of solitude and silence." 

St. Pierre was a vast charnel-house. Skirting for nearly a 
league the blue waters of the Caribbean, its smoking ruins 
became the funeral pyre of 30,000, not one of whom lived long 
enough to tell adequately a story that will stand grim, awful, 
unforgotten as that of Herculaneum, when the world is older 
by a thousand years. 

St. Pierre was as dead as Pompeii. Most of her people lay 
fathoms deep in a tomb made in the twinkling of an eye by 
the collapse of their homes, and sealed forever under tons of 
boiling mud, avalanches of scoria and a hurricane of volcanic 
dust. 

Over the entombed city the volcano from a dozen vents 
yet poured its steaming vapors in long, curling wreaths, that 
mounted thousands of feet aloft, like smoking incense from a 
gigantic censer above the bier of some mighty dead. 

Such was the disaster which burst upon the hapless people 
©f the island of Martinique, while almost at the same moment a 
sister isle, St. Vincent, was suffering a kindred fate. Similar 
in natural conditions, these two little colonies of the West 
Indies, one French and one English by affiliation, underwent 
the shock of nature's assault and sank in grief before a horror- 
stricken worldo 



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